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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24459166">Meant To Be</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/havokwritesstuff/pseuds/havokwritesstuff'>havokwritesstuff</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>yanderepeterparker (blog) [19]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Jealousy, Stalking, lighter yandere themes, peter gets more intense later on</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 00:35:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>22,263</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24459166</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/havokwritesstuff/pseuds/havokwritesstuff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>You’re mysteriously transported into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a world you know only to be fictional. Spider-Man and the Avengers try to help you get back to your world, but it’s made more difficult when you and Peter begin to fall in love.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Peter Parker/Reader, Yandere Peter Parker/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>yanderepeterparker (blog) [19]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1624429</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>225</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So for this we’re basically assuming that every person in the reader’s world has a counterpart in the MCU, even the actors. They just look different and obviously aren’t in Marvel movies. Also I’ve never set foot in New York in my entire life so please suspend your disbelief with that stuff.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was supposed to be like any other day. Go to school, walk home, do homework, eat dinner, mess around on the internet for a while, sleep, then do it all again. But as you walked down the bustling street on your way to school, something just felt…wrong.</p>
<p>You shrugged the feeling off, knowing that you would be fine in Manhattan in the middle of the morning. You turned the volume up on your music and shoved your hands into your pockets as you made it through the last few minutes until you arrived at school.</p>
<p>Except you never <em>actually</em> got there.</p>
<p>When you made it to the sidewalk leading to the building, there was an orange circle in the air in front of you that only increased in intensity. It got brighter and almost seemed like it was sparking. You could’ve sworn it looked like something right out of Doctor Strange, but you chalked it up to a lack of sleep from staying up and binging some Marvel movies the night before. There were only a few people around and none of them seemed to notice, but that did fit in with the usual New York attitude.</p>
<p>You shook your head and went to walk past since you were running pretty late, but some unknown force seemed to pull you closer to the circle. You tried to fight it and it only worked harder, all until you fell through the circle and landed smack on the ground, your headphones falling from your ears.</p>
<p>The impact knocked the air out of your lungs so you couldn’t get up right away, and several seconds later, you felt someone step over you and keep walking, shouting, “Get off the sidewalk!”</p>
<p>You pushed yourself up to stand and looked around for that orange circle. It was gone, so you figured you were probably good to head into the school. Considering what you’d just seen, you wondered if it wouldn’t be best to go back home and get some sleep. The only thing was that you didn’t want your parents to think you’d lost your mind or something.</p>
<p>When you turned to your school, you froze, your eyes going wide because it wasn’t your school. In fact, it wasn’t a school at all. It looked like some sort of office building. “What the hell?”</p>
<p>In your confusion, you spun around and everything else looked pretty normal…until you saw the Metlife Building. Or, more accurately, what <em>should’ve</em> been the Metlife Building. Instead you found what was very clearly the old Avengers Tower, which had become the Baxter Building</p>
<p>It was official, you <em>had</em> lost your mind.</p>
<p>“Oh my god, oh my god.” You tried to take a deep breath before pinching yourself hard. “This isn’t real. I’m dreaming. It’s just a really <em>really</em> weird dream.”</p>
<p>There was a whooshing sound up above and you looked up to see a streak of fire, as well as three people standing on what looked like thin air, one of them with rocky, orange skin. The Fantastic Four. They all passed by, and you stared at them as they disappeared, no one else really paying any mind. Like they saw it every single day. And it definitely felt much more real than any dream you’d ever had. “Holy shit.”</p>
<p>You moved to the building that was supposed to be your school in an attempt to get out of the way of other pedestrians. You leaned your shoulder against the wall since you had your backpack on and pulled out your phone. No service. You scrubbed a hand over your face before spotting the cafe right down the street, the one you went to almost every day before school, whenever you woke up on time. They had wifi, so you could probably use that to figure out what the hell was going on.</p>
<p>Once you got across the street and down the sidewalk, you ducked into the little shop and looked around. Everything was exactly as it should’ve been, even the employees, and it gave you some sense of relief as you got in the short line. Strange times like this really called for caffeine.</p>
<p>You reached the counter to order and smiled at the cashier, Sara, who you saw every morning and always had a nice rapport with. “Hey, Sara. I’ll take my usual.”</p>
<p>The woman looked at you, confused. “And what would that be?”</p>
<p>You relayed the coffee order as you wondered why she didn’t recognize you, and now that you thought about that, she always greeted you back by name. “It’ll be under (Y/N).”</p>
<p>As you handed her the money, she didn’t laugh or make a comment like ‘I know your name, honey’. She simply smiled and said, “We’ll have it right out for you.” as she handed you your change.</p>
<p>You found an empty table and sat down, still mulling over that weird interaction. If someone that knew you didn’t even recognize you, that confirmed that you weren’t just hallucinating or having a fever dream of some sort. Maybe the Baxter Building and the Fantastic Four were really there. Maybe that orange circle really had been a magical portal.</p>
<p>“This is crazy,” you mumbled under your breath as you connected your phone to the wifi. The first thing you did was try to call your mom, but the number was out of service, and your dad’s number directed you to some heating and air repair company.</p>
<p>Since that was a bust, you thought google might be a good place to start. You simply typed in the word “Marvel”, thinking you might see a link to Marvel.com, or some articles about the comics or movies. Instead, the first result was literally just the definition of the word marvel.</p>
<p>After that, you tried searching many names. Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Peter Parker, Bruce Banner. There was nothing about them being fictional. Everything was just interviews and articles and academic decathlon wins and scientific papers.</p>
<p>Finally, you tried your own name , plus “New York City”, and what you found nearly made you drop your phone on the table top.</p>
<p>You and your parents were all listed as casualties during the Battle of New York.</p>
<p>Those words on the screen had you frozen, just staring, until one of the baristas called out your name. He said it twice before you slid out of the chair and went to pick it up, muttering a thank you before you left the shop and made your way down the street.</p>
<p>So, you were suddenly in a fictional world, where you and your parents died over a decade earlier. You wanted to get back to your home as soon as possible, and that meant one thing. You needed heroes.</p>
<p>The Fantastic Four hadn’t been in the MCU for very long and not as much was known about those versions of them, so you decided on the Avengers. They wouldn’t be easy to reach though since, as far as you knew, they all went off to do their own things after fighting Thanos.</p>
<p>But there was one you <em>could</em> find, right there in the city, with connections to all of them. Your favorite hero, Spider-Man.</p>
<p>You headed towards the closest subway stop that would take you to Queens, trying to keep yourself as calm as possible as you swiped your metro card (which thankfully still worked) and got on the packed subway. You gripped the railing with one hand and held your coffee in the other, your hand shaking slightly as you took a sip.</p>
<p>Lining the top of the car were a multitude of different ads. Stark Industries, Roxxon, Wizard, The Daily Bugle, and even something for a Dazzler performance at Madison Square Garden. You even spotted a man reading the New York Bulletin, the cover page reading “Daredevil Defeats Bullseye.”</p>
<p>In spite of the insane circumstances, you actually found yourself geeking out a little.</p>
<p>Once you reached the first stop in Queens, you got off of the train. It wasn’t until you got on the street that you realized you didn’t know where in Queens Midtown was since, you know, it didn’t exist in your world. You weren’t in a huge rush though, since you still had several hours until school would let out. You ended up stopping somewhere with wifi to get the location and headed off in that direction.</p>
<p>Several hours later, once the clock on your phone hit 2:45, you snuck closer to the campus as you heard the final bell ring. You’d seen Spider-Man: Homecoming enough times to know that Peter would most likely be rushing out of the school way ahead of everyone else. And if he wasn’t, you’d still probably be able to talk to him, it would just be easier if you could get him somewhere more private first.</p>
<p>There he was in his cute blue sweater and plaid combo with a jacket on top, jogging over to the fence, presumably to jump over it and head off on patrol. He effortlessly hopped over and landed, taking off again. You couldn’t believe it was really him. <em>Peter Parker</em>. Not Tom Holland, but the actual hero himself.</p>
<p>You were starstruck for a second until you remembered your purpose for being there. You didn’t think, you just threw yourself out in front of him. “Wait!”</p>
<p>Peter ran smack into you and sent you both falling to the concrete, your backpack and his weight making it very uncomfortable. You found him staring down at you, his brown eyes wide and his cheeks turning red. You were sure you were blushing too. Before he could say anything, you spoke. “Look, I know that you’re <em>actually</em> Spider-Man, and I need your help.”</p>
<p>His eyes might have gotten even wider when you said that. How could you possibly know that? Peter snapped out of it a bit and stood up, also extending his hand to help you. He wasn’t exactly eager to be caught in a compromising situation like that by his classmates, especially with a strange girl. Brad would have a field day.</p>
<p>You dragged him off to the side, out of sight of any students, and you were surprised that he let you. He just wanted to figure out what you were there for, but it was mostly because he was still a bit flustered from literally being on top of you. “I-I’m not Spider-Man,” he said. “That was disproven.”</p>
<p>“I know for sure that you’re Spider-Man.”</p>
<p>“Well, I mean…how can you know something that’s not true?” His voice got high as he went along and even he didn’t look convinced. He was a terrible liar apparently.</p>
<p>You could hear the voices of other students echoing from the courtyard, but thankfully you two were out of the way enough to not be seen. “Well I definitely just watched you jump over that fence with no effort, but I also know that you were bitten by a radioactive spider when you were 14 and that’s how you got your powers.”</p>
<p>Peter’s stomach dropped clear to the ground. “H-how do you know that?”</p>
<p>“This is going to sound absolutely crazy, but I need you to bear with me.” You took a deep breath, trying not to feel nervous as Peter Parker himself watched you. “Basically, on the way to school this morning, I saw a portal and it kind of pulled me in, right? And it looked like the ones Doctor Strange makes. You know, the…” You did the gesture and Peter nodded, so you continued. “I ended up here, on an Earth that’s definitely not mine because you and all of the Avengers and every other hero are all supposed to be fictional characters. And I’ve been trying to stay calm about this all day, but I’m kind of freaking out because I just want to go home-”</p>
<p>Peter listened to you ramble on, only as soon as you mentioned another Earth, he became concerned. “Wait, did you say you’re not from this Earth?”</p>
<p>“Yeah.”</p>
<p>“I don’t have great experience with people who say they’re from alternate universes.”</p>
<p>That was when it hit you. After the whole thing with Beck, it made sense for him not to trust it. Why didn’t you think of that? “I get it. Mysterio was a lying asshole. But your Spider Sense-sorry, Peter Tingle, works now, doesn’t it? If I were dangerous, wouldn’t you be able to tell?”</p>
<p>He almost groaned at you calling it the Peter Tingle until he realized you were right. You didn’t feel dangerous. But he still felt nervous around you for an entirely different reason, mainly that you were a really beautiful girl that was actually talking to him. “How could I even help you? It sounds like magic and that’s not very ‘Friendly Neighborhood’.”</p>
<p>“I figured you could put me in touch with some Avengers that can help. You’re the only one I definitely knew how to find.” You sighed, your shoulders slumping. “God, I’ve lived in New York City my whole life and even with all the similarities, I feel totally out of my depth. I just really need you right now, Peter. I need your help so I can get home.”</p>
<p>Peter knew he could trust his gut, and his gut said to trust <em>you</em>, but he also knew the Avengers could confirm it if need be. He didn’t want a repeat of Beck. “Okay, I’ll help. I’ll take you to the Avengers.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I’m basically making shit up because we really don’t know the state of the Avengers in the MCU right now. This is just wishful thinking.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It still felt like a dream as you walked side by side with Peter and left the school behind. You gripped the straps of your backpack, unsure of what to say. He probably thought you were crazy. You’d thought that too, but it was way beyond that now.</p><p>“Someone should be at the mansion hopefully. They can look into your story and try to find a way to help you out.”</p><p>You looked at him with a slight frown. “Mansion?”</p><p>“Yeah. The facility upstate was destroyed when Thanos attacked, so Pepper offered us a mansion in Manhattan to use. It’s been owned by Stark Industries for years, but it’s stayed empty until recently. You don’t know about that?”</p><p>As the two of you walked down the steps of the closest subway stop that would take you to Manhattan, you shook your head. “Nope. Avengers Mansion is a thing in the comics, but not in the movies. Not yet apparently.”</p><p>Peter just nodded. The thought of being fictional in some other universe was strange, but he was curious about it. Who wouldn’t be? “So The Avengers are just characters where you’re from?”</p><p>“Yep. Originally, all of you were comic book characters, then tv shows and cartoons were made, then tons of movies. There have been a few other versions of some of you guys, but this is definitely the MCU.” You swiped your metro card for the both of you at the turnstiles and got on the train. Peter stood next to you, holding onto the railing as the other passengers pushed you a little close to him. “Sorry.”</p><p>“It’s okay.” A light blush dusted his cheeks again, but he tried to ignore it because he definitely didn’t need to be thinking about being that close to a pretty girl. “So what’s the ‘MCU’?”</p><p>“The Marvel Cinematic Universe. The comic company that created all of you is called Marvel, by the way. But basically it’s a series of movies that started with Iron Man, then expanded to Thor, Captain America, The Avengers, The Guardians, and way more. Including Spider-Man.” Thankfully no one but Peter seemed to be listening because you were sure you sounded delusional.</p><p>“There’s movies about m-Spider-Man?”</p><p>“Yeah. There are a lot actually, even before the MCU, and two other people played you. You’re definitely my favorite version.” When you realized what you said, you looked down in embarrassment. “That probably sounded weird.”</p><p>Peter laughed and it definitely made you a little dizzy. But you calling him your favorite made him blush deeper. “All of this sounds weird so it’s okay.”</p><p>It was your turn to laugh. “I know. I’m surprised you’re even listening to me and not running for the hills.”</p><p>He shrugged. “My sixth sense, remember? Wait, what else did you call it earlier?”</p><p>“Spider Sense. Or Spidey Sense. I’ve heard it both ways.”</p><p>Peter considered the name. “Spidey Sense…Spidey Sense…Do you mind if I use that? Everyone else will still call it the Peter Tingle, but I definitely like that better.”</p><p>You tried not to giggle at his frustration with Peter Tingle. “Go ahead. Technically you used it first. Another version of you, really.”</p><p>“You’re definitely going to have to tell me about these other versions of myself.”</p><p>You looked around at the other passengers again. Usually with that many people you would feel a little claustrophobic, but Peter’s presence helped you feel much better. “Maybe later. If Doctor Strange isn’t already there to magic me back to my Earth or whatever.”</p><p>Peter frowned when you mentioned Doctor Strange. He totally forgot. “I think he’s unreachable. That was the last thing I heard anyway.”</p><p>You sighed, thinking about how you could be stuck in this alternate world for longer than just the day. “You know, I always wanted to be in a world with superheroes, but not like this. I mean, I googled myself earlier and my parents and I were killed in the Chitauri invasion. I don’t have any family here. I’m alone.”</p><p>Tears started welling up in your eyes before Peter put a hesitant hand on your shoulder. “You’re not alone. We’ll get you back there somehow.”</p><p>“Thank you, Peter.” You smiled a wobbly smile and blinked the tears away.</p><p>—-</p><p>The two of you stood in front of the gate that blocked the large building off from unwanted visitors. You stared at it with wide eyes, as it was absolutely huge, the size of an entire city block. That building definitely didn’t exist in your world. “Holy shit.”</p><p>“I know, right?” Peter said with a smile as the AI at the gate scanned him, then you, labeling you as a guest. It opened and let you both in before quickly closing behind you.</p><p>“People don’t question Peter Parker just walking into the Avengers Mansion?” You asked as you made your way down the path leading to the front door.</p><p>“Everybody thinks I’m just an intern. Except for the people that weren’t convinced by the 'evidence’ that I’m not Spider-Man. That’s what I thought you were at first until you mentioned the spider.”</p><p>“Oh yeah. Everybody in my world knows about the radioactive spider thing. It’s right next to Krypton blowing up or Bruce Wayne’s parents being murdered in terms of famous superhero origins.”</p><p>Peter went to open the door, but stopped, already confused again. “Bruce Wayne?”</p><p>You looked at him for a moment before it dawned on you. “Oh, I guess DC Comics doesn’t exist here, huh?”</p><p>“Nope.”</p><p>“That makes sense. Don’t worry about it.”</p><p>Peter pushed the door open and let you in first. The mansion looked much bigger on the inside, grand and absolutely beautiful. It even had the Avengers logo on the floor of the foyer. You felt even more like you’d walked into a comic book.</p><p>“Parker! That’d better not be another one of your friends that you just brought in with you. We told you to stop doing that.” You knew that voice, but you couldn’t see him yet. You looked over at Peter to find him rubbing the back of his head nervously, then turned back to be met with the one and only Sam Wilson walking down the steps.</p><p>“Well, uh, that’s not what it is. This is definitely an Avengers thing.” Peter assured him as he stepped forward to speak with his team leader. “She’s from another Earth and needs help getting back.”</p><p>Sam looked at Peter like he’d lost his mind, glancing over at you as you stood in place and watched awkwardly. “Uh huh. And I’m the King of Wakanda.”</p><p>“Sam, I feel like she’s telling the truth. She knows stuff about me that no one but friends and family know. And my Spider Sense-”</p><p>“You mean your Peter Tingle?”</p><p>Peter pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut for a second. “Oh my god. Okay, yes. It’s telling me she’s not a danger. The Avengers are supposed to help people, right? So let’s help her.”</p><p>Sam sighed as Peter gave him the sad eyes. He knew the kid had crazy good intuition about these things, but he wasn’t going to trust it blindly when it came to some strange girl, especially when they had other ways to confirm it. “You two, follow me.”</p><p>“Yes, sir.” You both said at once as you caught up to Peter and walked beside him.</p><p>“Avengers, meet in the war room in five minutes.” Sam ordered and the AI, FRIDAY it sounded like, relayed it to the other members.</p><p>It still felt unreal. You didn’t only get to meet Spider-Man, but you met Captain America and would be meeting the rest in only a few minutes. You just hoped they would take you seriously.</p><p>Sam led you into a room with a huge round table surrounded in chairs. There were screens on the wall and what looked like a holographic computer in the middle of the table. Peter politely pulled out a chair for you to sit in, then took the seat next to you. Sam opted to stand until everyone else arrived, his arms crossed over his chest.</p><p>Over the next few minutes, the rest filtered in and and you tried not to stare at each of them as they walked in. Bucky, Rhodey, Wanda, Hope, Scott, and Vision, all in the flesh. You just looked at Peter with barely hidden excitement and he would just smile because he understood in a way. All of these people had been, and still were, heroes to him, so he still got a bit starstruck even after some time.</p><p>“Alright, so do you two wanna tell us what’s going on?” Rhodey asked from his seat next to Sam.</p><p>Peter gave you a nod and you stood up, shaking slightly as you took a deep breath. “Okay this is going to sound really insane, I know, but I’m from another universe where you guys are all fictional characters.” You could tell that you lost them, but you continued. “This morning, there was a portal like Doctor Strange makes. It pulled me in and I ended up here. I didn’t know where else to go for help.”</p><p>Scott had the most obvious reaction as he laughed and started to stand from his seat. “I’m out.”</p><p>“Wait!” You gestured to Wanda. “You can read my mind and see that I’m telling the truth. Please.”</p><p>Wanda looked to Sam and he nodded. “Do it.”</p><p>The witch stood up and rounded the table until she stopped next to you. She raised her hand near your head and you squeezed your eyes shut. “It’s painless, I promise.”</p><p>Wanda moved her fingers, red wisps of energy radiating from them until your eyes turned red to match hers. It felt weird to have someone rifling through your mind, but she was right. It didn’t hurt at all. Everyone else watched until the energy dissipated and Wanda’s hand dropped. She looked at you curiously, and you wondered what exactly she’d looked at. Finally, she turned to Sam. “She’s telling the truth.”</p><p>“See? I told you.” Peter said, but quickly shut up when Sam looked at him and began to speak.</p><p>“Doctor Strange and the rest of the wizards have been unreachable. Something about a dark dimension. If it was magic that brought you here, then we’ll have to wait for him to come back.”</p><p>“Dr Banner may be able to find a scientific solution.” Vision offered.</p><p>Sam nodded. “I’ll contact him. In the meantime, you’ll just have to wait. This is no place for a civilian, so we’ll figure out a place for you to stay for now.”</p><p>Obviously you were disappointed. Even though Peter already told you Strange was out, you really hoped that it was old information. You just wanted to go back to your Earth. You didn’t belong in this one.</p><p>You were about to thank Sam when Peter stood up next to you. “Maybe she can stay with me and May. I don’t think it’ll be a problem.”</p><p>You turned to him and smiled. “You’d do that?”</p><p>Peter’s cheeks turned red as he smiled back. “Yeah. I just don’t want you to be alone, you know?”</p><p>Sam and Bucky looked at each other knowingly before the latter spoke, “Well if that’s all taken care of, we’ve got training.”</p><p>They all started getting up to leave and you quickly thanked all of them before Peter led you out of the war room and down the hall. “Thanks, Peter.”</p><p>“You don’t have to thank me.” He replied as he held the front door open and you walked out into the chilly late afternoon again. Peter wasn’t even exactly sure why he offered. He had only just met you that day, but he didn’t like the idea of you staying alone in an unfamiliar world.</p><p>“I know, but still. It means a lot.” Peter smiled and you couldn’t help thinking how cute he was.</p><p>“We should head there. I have patrol and you’re probably tired after all this.”</p><p>“You’ve got that right.”</p><p>—-</p><p>May was understandably confused when Peter brought you home and explained the situation, but she was her usual kind self about it. She agreed to let you stay with them until you could get home. The three of you had dinner together, and you helped May with the dishes, but after that, Peter had to go on patrol.</p><p>He walked into the living room wearing his suit, just without the mask. He was carrying a small stack of clothes, a smile on his lips as he handed it to you. “Here, I found you some clothes to wear tonight. May said you can put yours in the washer for tomorrow and there’s towels in the closet by the bathroom if you want to shower. Not that you smell bad or anything. I just know you’ve been running around all day and thought you might wanna-”</p><p>“It’s okay, Peter. I know what you meant. Thank you.” You took the stack of clothes and got up from the couch.</p><p>“You’re welcome. Oh and you can sleep in my room if you want…” He gestured in the general direction of his bedroom. “I’ll take the couch. I’m gonna be out pretty late tonight anyway.”</p><p>You shook your head. “No, I couldn’t take your bed.”</p><p>“It’s fine. I promise.” He gave you a reassuring smile and you nodded in agreement.</p><p>“Well I guess I’ll go shower and get some sleep. You stay safe out there tonight.”</p><p>“I’ll do my best.” Peter replied with a little wave as he went towards his bedroom, presumably to climb out of the window.</p><p>You sighed and headed into the bathroom to take a quick shower. When you finished, dried off and checked out the clothes, only to see that it was a NASA shirt and a pair of sweatpants. You had originally assumed they were from May, but they were clearly his clothes.</p><p>You threw them on and went into Peter’s small bedroom. It was just as it looked in the movies, only it seemed he’d been building his Star Wars toy collection up again after selling them to go on his Europe trip. There was even the case in the corner that held the nanotech for his Iron Spider suit.</p><p>After taking it in, you laid down in the bed and pulled the covers up to your chin. You couldn’t believe you were in Peter Parker’s apartment, wearing his clothes, and about to go to sleep in his bed. You truly hoped that somehow you would wake up in your own.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been five days and it was still radio silence from Strange, while Bruce continued working on a solution. The longer you were in the Parker home, the worse you felt about it. Not that they were bad, no, they were amazing. You just felt guilty for intruding on their lives. They both assured you it was okay, but it was hard for you.</p><p>Every morning, you would leave with a “bye” to May, since Peter had school early, and just do something to be out and about. The second day, you went to the Avengers Mansion, but you realized that it was a waste of train fare since there was no real progress. You and Peter had agreed to go visit on Saturday, which was the next day, since he didn’t have to worry about school on the weekends.</p><p>So on the other days, you would explore Queens. You lived in Manhattan on your world, and you didn’t really venture out to any of the other boroughs very often. It really just gave you something to do instead of sitting around and twiddling your thumbs.</p><p>You would pop in your headphones and just walk. That way it almost felt normal, until you saw the Fantastic Four fly over, or Peter webbing up a criminal. Those occurrences were sure to bring you back to reality, as well as the reminder that you couldn’t just go home. Even if you did, it might have some other family living in it, or it could also be an entirely different building. You tried not to think about it.</p><p>Instead, you thought about the rumbling in your stomach. You didn’t eat unless it was with May and Peter because you didn’t have a ton of cash on you when you went through the portal. But maybe if you ate something for lunch, you could skip dinner and not feel bad about eating their food.</p><p>And that was when you saw it. <em>Delmar’s</em>. How could you have the chance to be in MCU Queens and not try a Delmar’s sandwich? So you decided to walk there and enter the shop. Mr Delmar had upgraded it between movies after the original shop was destroyed in Homecoming, so it definitely looked quite different.</p><p>There was someone else already at the counter, so you grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler and looked at the menu as you waited patiently. It all looked good, but you thought you’d try what Peter ordered, just to see what it was like. You made it up to the front and smiled at Mr Delmar. “Hi, I’ll take the number five, with extra pickles and pressed flat. Please.”</p><p>He punched that in and scanned the water, “That’ll be five dollars.”</p><p>You gave him the cash with a thank you and went to stand off to the side and wait for your sandwich. As you stood there, you put your headphones back in and when an employee handed you your sandwich, you left saying, “Have a nice day.”</p><p>Getting lunch was about as far as your plan went, so you had no idea where you were actually going to sit down and eat. You decided to just keep walking until you found a place. Eventually, you came across a small park with benches and tables, and you figured that was as good a place as any.</p><p>Once you picked a table, you unwrapped the sandwich and took out your phone. You still had no service and there was no wifi at the park, so you ended up in your photo gallery. You scrolled through the pictures and it honestly made your heart ache a bit. There were several of your family and friends and they all just reminded you of what you were missing. You did find a lot of Marvel memes that you could definitely show Peter later though. Minus any about him not feeling so good, or about Tony, Uncle Ben, or Beck obviously. They may have been funny in your world, but they would hurt him.</p><p>You wondered how Peter was doing. Every other day so far, you’d spotted him at least once, being that you were in his territory. He was still at school for about two more hours, but you hoped you would catch him later. Who wouldn’t want to see Spider-Man kicking ass? More than that, you felt lonely, and Peter was your only friend in this world.</p><p>For the next several hours, you wandered around Queens, but it was starting to get dark, so you headed towards the apartment. The night before, you came back after the sun went down and Peter seemed concerned. You didn’t want to worry him again.</p><p>As you walked down the sidewalk, you had the strange feeling of someone watching. When you turned around, you found Peter jogging to catch up with you, wearing his normal clothes with his backpack on. You let out the breath you’d been holding and smiled. “Oh, hi.”</p><p>“Hey.” He smiled back, his dark eyes somehow sparkling even though the sun was going down. “Are you heading back?”</p><p>“Mhm. You?”</p><p>“Yeah. You know May will kill me if I’m not back for dinner.”</p><p>You laughed, because you could definitely see that just in the short time you’d spent with them. “True.”</p><p>Peter felt his heart leap a bit from hearing you laugh, but he managed to ask the question that he wanted to ask as he played with the hem of his sleeve. “Do you want to walk back together?”</p><p>“Sure.” You started walking again and Peter fell into step next to you. The two of you kept a comfortable pace on the way to the apartment. “How was your day?”</p><p>Peter shrugged. “It was pretty alright. Nothing too exciting…Wait, I take that back. Mr Harrington accidentally started a fire in the lab.”</p><p>From everything you’d seen in the two movies Mr Harrington was in, that didn’t sound too impossible. “Was everyone okay?”</p><p>“Yeah, it was fine. What about you? Did you walk around all day again?” He asked, glancing over at you before looking back to the sidewalk.</p><p>“Yep. My day wasn’t too exciting either. I just kind of explored a bit. Got a sandwich at Delmar’s for lunch since it doesn’t exist in my world.”</p><p>“Oh man, that place has-”</p><p>“The best sandwiches in Queens?”</p><p>“Let me guess, I said that in a movie?”</p><p>“Exactly. Plus it was just really good.” You walked up the steps and went through the door of the apartment building. Peter hit the elevator button and you waited for it to arrive.</p><p>He shoved his hands in his pockets as he stood next to you. He didn’t understand it, he was so nervous, but at the same time, talking to you felt pretty natural. “So…you know you don’t have to stay out of the apartment all day, right?”</p><p>You chewed on your lip anxiously. You supposed it was only a matter of time before he brought that up. “I know, I just…I don’t want to be a burden on you guys or overstay my welcome.”</p><p>The elevator opened and the both of you walked in, but instead of standing next to you, Peter faced you. “May said you can stay until you get back home, and we’re happy to have you. Don’t worry about it, okay?”</p><p>“Sorry, I know it’s ridiculous. This is just a really weird situation.”</p><p>“I get it,” he said, then corrected himself. “Well, not the being transported to an alternate universe thing. That hasn’t happened to me.”</p><p>“Yet,” you stated simply as the doors opened and you walked out.</p><p>Peter stared at you for a moment with his mouth open wide, then jogged to catch up with you before the doors closed on him. “<em>Yet?!</em>”</p><p>You had to admit, it was cute when he got excited by any new information you let slip. “<em>Maybe</em>. Remind me to tell you about Spiderverse later.”</p><p>When you reached the door, he unlocked it and opened it to let you in first. The first thing you noticed was the faint scent of smoke, and you looked at Peter who caught it too. His senses didn’t warn him, so he just assumed that May burnt dinner again.</p><p>May poked her head out of the kitchen. “I burnt dinner. Hopefully you guys are in the mood for pizza.”</p><p>You followed Peter into the kitchen as he went in to wash his hands and get some food. “Thanks, May. I’m starving.”</p><p>You were very close to doing what you said earlier and telling them you were okay, even though it had been a good eight hours since lunch and you were hungry, but you remembered what Peter said on the way up there. And he realized from looking at you and how awkwardly you were standing there that you were planning on skipping out, so he gave you a knowing look.</p><p>You knew you weren’t going to get away with it so you gave in. “Yeah, thank you. I really appreciate it.” You smiled shyly and went to wash up as well, which made Peter mirror that smile.</p><p>The three of you ate dinner and chatted, but May had to work early the next morning which left you and Peter on your own. Both of you were pretty tired as well, so you each decided to at least change into pajamas and brush your teeth.</p><p>When you came out into the living room to sit with him, dressed in his clothes, Peter couldn’t help his slight blush. He noticed you had your backpack in your hand and you put it on your lap as you sat down next to him. He was going to ask why you brought it out until you unzipped it and pulled out a small stack of comic books. You hadn’t had time to show him during the week, but he didn’t have to worry about going to bed at a decent time since there was no school the next day.</p><p>“I don’t keep a ton in here, just stuff I was planning to read during my lunch period over the week. There are a few new issues and some old reprints from the back issue bin that looked interesting.” You looked through the stack and Peter watched, catching the colorful covers and logos for a couple different heroes and teams, until you landed on a Spider-Man one.</p><p>You held it out to him and Peter’s eyes lit up when he read the title. <em>‘The Amazing Spider-Man’</em>. “You really weren’t kidding about the comics.” He still found it weird to think that he was a fictional character in your world, but seeing an actual comic of himself was a really cool feeling.</p><p>“You can open it if you want.”</p><p>When you said that, he carefully took it out of the bag and board and flipped through it. It was definitely an older comic judging by the art and dialogue. He ended up finding himself as well as some people he didn’t recognize by look or name. “Who are Gwen and Harry?”</p><p>“Oh, Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn? They’re that Peter’s first girlfriend and best friend.”</p><p>“So MJ and Ned don’t exist in this?”</p><p>“They do. Ned’s just really different, and MJ’s…” You stopped before you told him that MJ was his wife. Well, used to be anyway. You didn’t want to throw in that information and make things weird for him. “…still MJ.”</p><p>Peter noticed the way you hesitated, but he thought it was best not to pry. He put the issue back in the bag and returned it to you. “Huh. I guess they, uh, changed a lot of stuff didn’t they?”</p><p>“Yeah, but they were good changes. Sometimes I prefer the MC-your universe over the comics because it’s less convoluted and ridiculous.” You put the comics back in your backpack and zipped it up before putting it on the floor by your feet. “Anyway, since we were talking about MJ, that reminds me. You don’t have to go with me to check in with the Avengers tomorrow. I’m sure you probably want to spend some time with your girlfriend over the weekend.”</p><p>When you said that, Peter just kind of froze, and you instantly knew something was up. “Um, MJ and I…we broke up a while back.”</p><p>Well, that made you feel like shit. “Oh no. Peter, I’m sorry.” You put your hand on his shoulder, hoping it would be some comfort.</p><p>“No, it’s fine. We just decided we were better off as friends.” Peter would be a liar if he said the breakup didn’t still cross his mind occasionally, but it was a lot easier than it had been at first. He didn’t cry about it anymore or even really feel that sad. MJ already moved on and he realized fairly recently that he had moved on from it as well.</p><p>This news was really weird to you considering that they were supposed to be endgame, but they were only teens, which meant they still had plenty of time to reconnect in that way. “I’m glad you guys are still friendly.”</p><p>“Me, too.”</p><p>You patted his shoulder and let go, and Peter felt a small flare of disappointment. “I’m gonna go ahead and turn in since we’re getting up early. Are you sure you don’t want to sleep in your own bed tonight?”</p><p>Peter nodded, laughing because you asked him that every night. “I’m sure. Go to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.”</p><p>You walked to the bedroom and stopped in the doorway to look back at him. “Goodnight, Peter.”</p><p>“Night.”</p><p>The door clicked shut, and Peter decided to go grab everything so he could set up the couch. Once that was done, he turned off the lights and laid down, his hands draped over his stomach. He tried to clear his mind so he could hopefully fall asleep, since the two of you were going to have an early morning visiting Dr Banner. He hoped you would get some good news.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A month passed since you ended up in this alternate universe, and things were getting a tiny bit easier. You were settling in better with the Parkers, feeling less awkward and burdensome over time.</p><p>You didn’t even feel like you had to stay out the entire day either. You would hang at the apartment to tidy up and do your laundry if you needed to. One day you even did Peter’s laundry since it was easily accessible, but he got really embarrassed so you decided to refrain from doing that anymore. Along with that, you began coming back earlier to help May with dinner.</p><p>They were both glad to see that you were more comfortable, May had told you as much. She was also thankful for a little extra help since a teen in the house, especially a vigilante one, could lead to a bit more messiness. Peter was embarrassed by that too.</p><p>You and Peter still visited the Avengers Mansion every Saturday, whenever Bruce was there. He told you a few weeks back that it could be months before he had a working device for multiversal travel since he was working on his own. Your best chance was the Sorcerer Supreme, who was still otherwise occupied along with the rest of his colleagues.</p><p>Thankfully the Avengers helped you out with a working phone as well as some clothes so you wouldn’t have to wash and wear the same outfit every single day. You no longer had to wear Peter’s clothes to bed either. If you didn’t know better, you could’ve said that he almost looked a little disappointed the first night you didn’t have them on.</p><p>Overall, things were getting better. You missed your family and friends and wanted to be back in your world, but this one was starting to feel much less foregin to actually live in.</p><p>After a long day of visiting Bruce, hanging with May (and a little with Peter before he went on patrol), and doing your own thing around town, you crawled into Peter’s bed and practically passed right out.</p><p>You didn’t know how long you were asleep when you were woken up by a loud thump and a groan of pain. You sat right up, rubbing the sleep from your eyes as you turned on the lamp. And there you saw Peter in a heap on the floor, his mask off and clutched in his hand. The sight woke you up completely as you jumped off of the bed and kneeled next to him. “Peter, what happened?”</p><p>Peter rolled over with a grunt and that was when you saw the blood soaking the front of his suit, which had a decent sized tear in it near his side. He cracked a weak smile. “I kinda got shot?”</p><p>“Kind of?! Oh my god.” You took a deep breath and tried to calm yourself. Freaking out wouldn’t help Peter right now. “Okay, um, wouldn’t the Avengers be better for this? I’ve never treated a bullet wound.”</p><p>“Mission,” he said, reminding you that the team had been getting ready to leave for a week long one during your visit that day.</p><p>“Fuck. Alright.” You scrubbed your hand over your face and stood up. “First aid kit?”</p><p>“Bathroom. Under the sink.” Peter felt bad because you were clearly distressed, and he hated getting you involved in this, but you were his only choice at the moment.</p><p>You left the room and went into the bathroom to grab the kit, washing your hands and cleaning the tools you would need as well. When you came back, you found Peter trying to sit up. You put the kit down and quickly went to grab him. “We should get you on the bed so we don’t have to move you after.”</p><p>“Okay,” was all he said as you hoisted him up and carefully put him down on the bed.</p><p>“Damn you’re heavier than you look.” You turned the main light on and sat on the edge of the bed before opening up the kit and pulling on some gloves. You carefully wiped some of the blood away so you could see what you were dealing with. Not that you really knew what to do about it. “I’m worried about making it worse when I take the bullet out.”</p><p>“Probably can’t get much worse.”</p><p>You took out everything you needed and set it out on the bed, grabbing a piece of gauze so you could put pressure on it to stop the bleeding. You’d learned that much. “I could nick one of your organs while I’m digging around in there and you could start bleeding internally and die. If you’re not <em>already</em> bleeding internally.”</p><p>Peter chuckled softly, groaning a bit when you pressed down on the bullet hole. “Yeah, I was just trying to make you feel better. Karen said there’s no internal bleeding.”</p><p>“Well thanks for that,” you replied with a little laugh, trying to hide the way you were shaking. Movies and TV shows always made this stuff look so easy. “Would Karen be able to help me through this?”</p><p>“Karen, can you help (Y/N)?”</p><p>One of Peter’s web shooters lit up, almost like when it made the spider signal, but it seemed to be a 3D holographic scan of Peter’s abdomen with his vitals to the side. Her voice came from it, startling you a bit. ‘Hello, (Y/N). Once the bleeding stops you can take the bullet out.’ The hologram zoomed in a bit, showing where the bullet was.</p><p>Being able to see it was comforting, but also not at the same time. “Oh, boy. That looks deep.”</p><p>Peter put his hand over yours with a small smile. His face was even more pale than usual and it made you worry that he might pass out or something, but Peter was tough. He’d be okay. At least that was what you told yourself so you wouldn’t freak out, but his words helped calm you down a little. “It’s gonna be fine.”</p><p>When Karen said so, you grabbed the forceps with one hand while the other held his wound open. You gently probed with them, trying to ignore the fact that you were literally looking at Peter’s insides. Instead you focused on searching for the piece of metal.</p><p>There were no decent pain relievers or anesthetics in the first aid kit, so Peter felt every bit of it. You tried not to disturb anything, but hurting him was inevitable. Every time he made a pained noise or grabbed the bedsheets, it made your heart hurt and you tried not to cry. This was necessary to help him, but you just wanted his pain to stop.</p><p>“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”</p><p>“I-It’s alright.”</p><p>Moments later, the tip of the forceps finally scraped against something hard, and you could see the metal reflecting in the light, the parts that weren’t totally bloody anyway. “There it is.” You carefully grabbed it with the tool and slowly but surely pulled it out. You didn’t want to cause any more injury by going too fast. Once it was out, you cheered, “Oh my god, I did it!” You dropped the bullet into the little tray with a clink. “Can I clean it out now, Karen?”</p><p>She confirmed that, and also that you avoided internal damage, so you went ahead and flushed it out, Peter flinching at the sting. “You still with me, Peter?”</p><p>“Yep,” he replied, breathing heavily. He had been operated on and stitched up so many times, and it got easier, but it still fucking hurt. Especially when it had to be done at home with nothing for the pain. He really wasn’t looking forward to the stitches.</p><p>You’d never given anyone stitches before so Karen had to guide you through that as well. You got the needle threaded up and went to stick it through his skin, willing your hands not to shake. “First stitch.”</p><p>Peter nodded, hissing when you pushed the needle through and he felt it tug at his skin. You tied it off just as she said and snipped the thread. “One down.”</p><p>You did a few more stitches, flinching every time Peter made a noise, until Karen said you were finished. You cleaned the blood from his skin and taped a little gauze pad over the wound. With a relieved sigh, you stripped the gloves off. “How do you feel?”</p><p>“Better.” He still looked pale and had a sheen of sweat over his face, but you were sure that no longer having a bullet inside of him probably did help.</p><p>“Alright, I’m going to clean this stuff up and I’ll be back, okay?” You picked up everything to take it back to the bathroom.</p><p>“Okay.” Peter gave you another weak smile and closed his eyes, finally able to relax a little. He heard you in the bathroom, washing your hands and doing the same with everything else before you put it back in the kit and slid it under the sink.</p><p>You came back again and stood over him. He was still in the suit and it didn’t seem too comfortable to sleep in, but he probably didn’t need to be moving much right then. And it seemed inappropriate to suggest taking his clothes off, even though you’d seen a lot of him by watching the movies anyway. You shook that thought away. “Do you need anything?”</p><p>“I’m okay…” He looked right in your eyes with his dark ones. “Thank you. For helping with this I mean.”</p><p>“Well I couldn’t exactly let you bleed out on the floor.” You pulled the blanket up over him and tucked it in a bit, just in case he got cold. “But I’ll help whenever you need me to, even if it’s terrifying.”</p><p>Peter laughed in spite of the pain it would cause. “I appreciate that. I owe you one.”</p><p>“No, I already owe you several.” You smiled and patted his shoulder. “Goodnight, Peter.”</p><p>“Night,” he replied, closing his eyes again as you turned off the light and shut the door.</p><p>You set up the couch so you could go back to sleep for a while, but as you laid there and shut your eyes, sleep wouldn’t take you. That whole thing had you nervous as hell and now that it was thankfully over, all you could focus on was fear for Peter. What if Karen was wrong and you somehow screwed up? What if he died in his sleep or something?</p><p>It took about an hour of tossing and turning, as well as checking on him often, for you to take a pillow and blanket and lay on his bedroom floor instead. Once you were there, you still couldn’t sleep. You knew you were overreacting. Peter was enhanced. He got hit head on by a train for god’s sake. He fought Vulture, Thanos, Mysterio, and half of the Black Order. But maybe he needed people to worry a little too much about him sometimes.</p><p>Several hours later, you saw Peter begin to stir in his bed, and you sat up to greet him. “Good morning.”</p><p>Peter jumped at the sound of your voice, blinking the sleep from his eyes as he looked down at you, his hair sticking up every which way. He wasn’t expecting that first thing. “Good morning…?”</p><p>“You feel okay?” You asked softly as you stood completely and felt his face. He still looked awfully pale and his skin was a little too cool to the touch.</p><p>“Yeah, yeah. I’m good.” Peter sat up in the bed, careful of the wound on his side, but he still groaned in pain.</p><p>“Alright then. You stay here and I’ll go make us some breakfast.” May was already gone for work, so you walked out into the empty apartment and into the kitchen. You started getting out a pan as well as some dishes and utensils to make some pancakes, since you found out recently that they were Peter’s favorite. You really liked learning stuff about everyone, the little things that they never showed in the movies. It was things like that that made you realize they weren’t characters to you anymore, but real people.</p><p>You were mixing up some batter when you heard his bedroom door open. You turned around, the bowl cradled in your arm as you stirred the mix. Peter was wearing a t-shirt, the ‘find x’ one, and some plaid pajama pants, holding his side as he slowly headed towards the kitchen. He looked dead on his feet and you couldn’t imagine how he was feeling.</p><p>“Didn’t I say to stay there? You’ve got a bullet hole in you, you don’t need to be walking around.” You said as you put the bowl on the counter and made sure the pan was hot enough to use.</p><p>“It’s okay, I’ve had worse,” he replied, shrugging it off. It was true, he’d definitely had way worse, but he appreciated that you cared.</p><p>“I know. At least sit down at the table.”</p><p>“Okay, whatever you say, Dr. (Y/L/N).”</p><p>“Don’t be a smartass.” You laughed as you greased the pan and finally started making the pancakes.</p><p>Peter smiled and sat down in one of the chairs. “So why were you sleeping on the floor last night? Why not the couch?”</p><p>A blush spread over your face and you turned away embarrassed. “I was just worried, you know?”</p><p>He noticed the tint on your cheeks as well as the circles under your eyes. “You look tired. Did you sleep at all?”</p><p>“No, not after all that. I didn’t want to fall asleep and have you die in the middle of the night. I know that’s stupid because you’re Spider-Man, but I <em>had</em> just dug a bullet out of you.”</p><p>His smile faded, feeling guilty. He’d felt bad enough last night, but knowing that you didn’t sleep out of worry for him just made it worse. “I’m sorry.”</p><p>“Don’t be. I’m just glad you’re alive,” you assured him with a smile as you flipped two pancakes onto a plate and poured more batter in the pan. “How did you get shot anyway? Was your Spider Sense on the fritz or something?”</p><p>“The guy was aiming for someone else. I didn’t have time to get them out of the way,” he said with a shrug, as if it were nothing.</p><p>“So you took a bullet for someone. Yeah, that definitely sounds like you.”</p><p>When you finished another few pancakes, you added those to the plate and took it to him as well as a fork and the bottle of syrup. He took it with a smile, eagerly pouring on some of the syrup. “Thank you.”</p><p>“No problem. I thought you might be hungry after everything.” Now that his were done, you started making your own pancakes. “Do you have anything planned today?”</p><p>“I was going to hang out with Ned in a few hours. Maybe build his new Lego set. Do you wanna come?” He asked before taking a big bite of the pancakes. You were right, he was absolutely starving. It was his damn enhanced metabolism.</p><p>You chewed on your lip as you watched the little bubbles form on the top of your pancakes. That sounded really great, and it meant more time with others instead of being alone, but you also worried about getting close to Ned. You already felt like you were becoming too friendly with Peter and May considering that you wouldn’t be sticking around in their world forever. But the idea of hanging out with Peter and Ned sounded really nice.</p><p>Peter waited for your answer, becoming more and more nervous thinking that he went too far. He didn’t think you’d mind hanging out with Ned, but you seemed conflicted. He was about to say you didn’t have to before you finally replied with a smile</p><p>“I’d love to.”</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After another week and contact from Strange saying he wouldn’t be returning anytime soon, it was decided that you should enroll in school. You were missing out on a lot by not attending school and it would give you something to do. You went through the tests to get into Midtown, and Peter convinced Pepper to pull some strings and get you accepted even though you had no school records in that universe. So, when the second semester began, you were officially a senior at Midtown.</p><p>In the bathroom of the Parker home, you stood in front of the mirror fixing your clothes and hair. You’d already met Ned, but you would be meeting MJ, Betty, and Flash for the first time. The thought of them not liking you was worrisome, because if they didn’t, you’d feel even more alone in this new school. There was a tap on the door and you opened it to see Peter, already dressed with his backpack on. “Are you ready to go?”</p><p>“Yeah, just let me grab my backpack,” you replied, trying not to seem too nervous. You slipped past him and shut the door so you could quickly grab your backpack from his room and put it on. He smiled at you as you came out and you walked together through the living room.</p><p>“Have a good day!” May called from her doorway as she put her hair up.</p><p>“You, too, May!” You both said before Peter opened the door for you.</p><p>He could tell that you were on edge the whole walk and bus ride to the school, so he tried his best to distract you. He’d told you before about his teachers, even though you already knew about Mr Dell and Mr Harrington, and that only his four friends knew for certain that he was Spider-Man, so you didn’t have to dance around that. He didn’t tell them that you were from another universe though. Not even Ned knew and he’d already met you.</p><p>You froze on the sidewalk in front of Midtown and Peter kept walking for a moment before he noticed that you weren’t next to him. He stopped and turned around, confused. “(Y/N)? Are you okay?”</p><p>When you realized you weren’t moving, you shook your head to clear it and shot him a sheepish smile. “Y-Yeah, totally. Just a little…intimidated.”</p><p>“Why?” He asked, frowning slightly. You seemed more upset than the usual first day at a new school jitters.</p><p>“Well, I’m meeting the rest of your friends for the first time. It’s a little scary, you know? Like I’ve seen them all in the movies, but this is <em>real</em>.”</p><p>Peter closed the distance and stood in front of you, barely holding back a laugh. “You met the actual Avengers, and you’re worried about meeting my friends?”</p><p>“I won’t have to see the Avengers at school everyday for who knows how long. And you’re the only friend I really have in the universe, <em>literally</em>, so if your friends don’t like me, it’s-”</p><p>“Hey.” He put his hands on your shoulders and smiled softly. “It’ll be fine. They’ll like you, I promise. Ned already thinks you’re really cool if that helps.”</p><p>You smiled back, fighting the blush that tried to spread across your cheeks. “Yeah, it does. Thanks. We should head in now.”</p><p>Peter let his hands drop to his sides and the two of you walked together again, making your way towards the lockers first so he could drop off a few things. You didn’t have one yet, so Peter offered up some space in his until yours was assigned. As you walked down the halls, you took everything in. Midtown looked just like any other high school, but it was also the same one that you’d only seen on the screen during the many times you watched Homecoming and Far From Home. And now you were a student there.</p><p>Once everything was in his locker, you and Peter ended up in one of the open areas outside where he and his friends met every morning before the bell rang. At one of the tables you spotted Ned, MJ, and Betty all sitting together and it felt hard to breathe. But you would be fine, Peter said so, and he was right there with you.</p><p>Ned was the first to notice you, sending a smile your way as you stopped at the table. “Hey, guys!”</p><p>Peter went in for their handshake and you gave him a little wave. “Hi, Ned.”</p><p>Before you could even greet the others, Betty was out of her seat and talking at you excitedly. “Hi, I’m Betty. It’s so good to finally meet you! If you need any help getting around today, I’m your girl.”</p><p>The speed at which she was in front of you and speaking threw you for a loop, but you managed to keep up. “Thanks. I’m (Y/N) by the way.”</p><p>MJ spoke up from behind a book, her lips in a small smirk and a sparkle of amusement in her eyes. “We know. Peter hasn’t shut up about you for weeks.”</p><p>Peter choked on air when she said that, his face quickly going as red as a tomato. “That’s not-“</p><p>Flash finally arrived, a cocky smile on his face as he slipped into the conversation. "You must be the hot girl Peter’s been talking about. I’m Flash, Flash Thompson.”</p><p>If he wasn’t already embarrassed by MJ’s comment, that would’ve gotten him. His cheeks turned an even deeper shade as he shook his head, eyes wide. “I-I didn’t call you that.”</p><p>“Yeah, but I’m calling her that.” Flash winked at you and you laughed, oblivious to the way Peter stiffened when he saw it.</p><p>Before Peter could say anything, Betty spoke up again. “Just ignore him. He’s like this with everyone. So who’s your homeroom teacher?”</p><p>“Mrs. Warren.”</p><p>“Mine too! And MJ’s.” Betty replied, her smile widening. “You can walk there with us if you want so you don’t get lost.”</p><p>“I was gonna walk her to her classes.” Peter did tell you he would make sure you got to each class and help you get used to things at Midtown. He didn’t exactly want to break that promise.</p><p>The eyeroll could be clearly heard in MJ’s voice. “Your homeroom is on the complete other side of campus. I think she’ll be fine for one period.”</p><p>“It’s fine. I don’t want you to have to go out of your way for me,” you assured him before turning back to the other two girls. “Thanks, guys. I appreciate it.”</p><p>Peter couldn’t help the pang of disappointment a few minutes later when the bell rang and he had to watch you walk away with MJ and Betty.</p><p>—-</p><p>All five of them had helped you to the different classes they shared with you until it was time for lunch.</p><p>You entered the busy lunchroom with Ned, listening to him talk about the awesome game of Beast Slayers that he’d played the night before. Ned was really friendly and sweet, but not quite as in your face about it as Betty, which you really appreciated. Not that you didn’t like Betty, it could just be a lot. Thankfully the others helped a bit with that when they were around.</p><p>Peter watched from their usual table as you followed the lunch line, oblivious to his eyes on you. He had barely seen you since the morning, only sharing one class with you so far and spotting you a couple of times in the hall. His friends had gotten involved with helping you get acclimated and he was glad you all seemed to be getting along well, but he was also weirdly bothered by it, even though he knew he shouldn’t have been.</p><p>You laughed at something Ned said and he smiled, his tummy doing that same little flutter he’d been feeling for a while, just stronger lately. He blushed thinking about how nice your laugh was, since his senses let him hear it over the chatter filling the room.</p><p>“You should stop staring now. It’s weird.”</p><p>Peter looked over at MJ, who had a book in one hand and an apple in the other. If anyone was going to call him out, it was her. “I’m not staring.”</p><p>“You’re definitely staring. You were doing the same thing in Mr Dell’s class earlier. You like her.” She said matter of factly before taking a bite of the fruit.</p><p>“No, come on! I don’t like her!” Peter spluttered, glad that the sound in the room was enough to cover his voice from anyone else.</p><p>MJ rolled her eyes. Typical Peter. “Tell that to all of the messages you send in the group chat, and the way you talked about her every day before today. It’s obvious.”</p><p>“What’s obvious?”</p><p>Peter jumped at the sound of Ned’s voice and nearly knocked his tray over on the table. You gave him a concerned look as you sat down next to him and he really hoped you hadn’t heard what came before that. “Nothing!”</p><p>“Smooth,” MJ muttered, just loud enough for him to hear.</p><p>“Are you okay, Peter?” From the shifty way he was acting, you wondered if maybe you and Ned had walked in one something private between them. Maybe Peter and MJ weren’t so done after all. You had to quickly remind yourself that it wasn’t your business anyway.</p><p>He completely ignored MJ’s comment and cleared his throat. “I’m alright. How was class?”</p><p>“It was good other than Mr Harrington making me talk about myself in front of everyone. Thanks for warning me about that by the way.” You gave him a smile before taking a sip of your drink, and those flutters happened again.</p><p>“No problem.”</p><p>Soon enough, Flash and Betty sat down and joined in, but Peter found himself distracted by what MJ said.</p><p>—-</p><p>The two of you walked down the streets of Queens together, side by side. You knew Peter was going to have to split from you soon and go off on patrol, so you were enjoying it while it lasted. You were thankful that you had Peter to help you through the day, as well as your new friends. It truly meant so much and you knew you could never repay him.</p><p>Peter was just happy that you weren’t so tense anymore like you had been earlier in the morning. He really wanted to walk you back to the apartment and talk about the day more, even spend more time with you and May once you got there, but duty called. He stopped at the mouth of an alleyway and you turned to face him. “I’ll see you at dinner, okay?”</p><p>You nodded with a smile. You would’ve liked to walk back with him, but you knew he had a job to do. “Okay. Be safe, Peter.”</p><p>“Always.” Peter watched you walk away for a moment before ducking into the alleyway to quickly change into his suit and web his backpack to a wall in an inconspicuous place. He climbed up the wall in a rush to catch up with you, running across the rooftops until he saw you below.</p><p>It was a bit weird, he knew it, but he’d been watching over you since shortly after you arrived in his world. He just needed to know that you were okay in this world that wasn’t your own. It started when he would catch you while you were out walking around Queens, and he would stick around for a while to make sure you were good. Lately though, he kept a bit of a closer eye on you, even seeking you out sometimes. He was concerned about you, and he wanted to make sure you were safe.</p><p>Peter followed you until you reached the door of the apartment building, satisfied that you were secure, but he hung out on a nearby roof for a while to just think. His conversation with MJ had been on his mind all day, where she said he liked you.</p><p>He came to the conclusion that he did. He <em>really</em> did.</p><p>Being around you made him happy, and in a much different way than Liz or MJ ever did. You felt comfortable and warm, like home. Your smile, your laugh, your voice, it all made his heart content like nothing else.</p><p>The problem was, you weren’t from this world. You had your own to get back to, one where he was just a character on the screen or a page. He supposed that was why it took MJ pointing it out for him to really think about it, because it seemed unthinkable and wrong.</p><p>Developing feelings for you was bound to have him end up heartbroken again, but it was too late for that now.</p><p>Peter was <em>screwed</em>.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Another month came and went and it was becoming much harder to stay positive about your situation. This universe was great. You had Peter and May, as well as all of your new friends. They kept you from losing your mind, but at the same time, there were plenty of friends you’d left behind on your rightful earth, as well as your family. You wondered when the hell you would ever get to see them again.</p><p>You couldn’t help missing them, especially on that particular day. Your 18th birthday. Your parents would’ve thrown you a party with your friends like every other year, letting you celebrate your day with the important people in your life. But no one in this world knew your birthday, and you didn’t want to bring it up because that would be weird, so you decided to treat it like any other day.</p><p>You, Peter, Ned, MJ, and Betty were all sitting together at lunch when Flash finally arrived, taking the open seat on the other side of you. Any conversation was interrupted when he announced, “Party tonight. My house. You guys coming?”</p><p>Ned and Betty instantly agreed, while MJ gave a shrug. Flash turned to you and you shook your head. “I think I’ll pass on this one.”</p><p>The other four exchanged a look as Flash seemed scandalized by the notion that you wouldn’t want to attend one of <em>his</em> parties. Peter lightly nudged your arm, a knowing smile on his face. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”</p><p>Once those brown eyes were on you, the decision was made. “Okay, fine.”</p><p>Flash cheered. “You’ll have an awesome time, I promise.”</p><p>You hoped he was right, but at the same time, you felt a bit nervous at the prospect of going to a party that night.</p><p>—-</p><p>After school, Peter walked you most of the way back to his place, then the rest without you knowing. What you also didn’t know was that he had a birthday gift for you.</p><p>When you entered the apartment, you greeted May and went right to Peter’s room. You had a history paper due in a few days and he offered to let you use his laptop to do it, which definitely seemed like a big thing to you since he was an eighteen year old boy and all. Not that you intended to go through his browser history or anything. You planned to work on the paper in the few hours you had before the party.</p><p>Usually history would be pretty boring, but the fact that you were studying it in a world where Captain America fought in World War II and SHIELD/Hydra existed made it a little more interesting. You were about a page in when you heard a tap on the window. Carefully, you got up from the bed and walked over to the window, looking through the glass to find Peter there in his suit. You slid it open and leaned out a bit, laughing. “Why are you knocking on your own window?”</p><p>Peter rubbed the back of his neck, the eyes of his mask whirring quietly as they shifted. “Well, I, um, I thought I’d see if you wanted to go for a swing…”</p><p>“<em>What?</em>”</p><p>“You’ve mentioned a few times that you thought it looked really cool and fun in the movies you watched, so I figured maybe you’d want to go for real. With me. Not that any other people in the world swing around on webs, but you know what I mean.” He’d been more confident about it before, but now that he was talking to you, he couldn’t help feeling a bit nervous. What if you said no?</p><p>The biggest smile he’d ever seen from you stretched across your face. You definitely had more than a few dreams about swinging over the city like Spider-Man. “Are you being serious right now?”</p><p>“So serious.”</p><p>“Okay give me a second to get my shoes and jacket on.” You were practically shaking with anticipation as you got ready and went back to the window. Peter held his hand out so you took it and climbed through out onto the fire escape. “This is really happening,” you said to yourself.</p><p>Peter grinned fondly under his mask, the sight of your pure excitement making his heart beat faster. “Alright, so hop on and hold on tight.”</p><p>You wrapped your arms around his neck securely and he put an arm around your waist. You were glad he couldn’t see your face because the closeness put a blush and a shy smile on it. “You won’t drop me, right?”</p><p>“Never.” His arm tightened around you a little more. “Ready?”</p><p>“Ready.”</p><p>With that, he jumped off the fire escape and you quickly felt a tug at your stomach. You locked your legs around his hips and held in a squeal as he shot out a web and you swung up. You might not have been ready yet. You had your eyes squeezed shut as the wind whipped in your face, and all you could manage to do was hug Peter as tight as possible.</p><p>“You okay?!” He shouted over the wind. He definitely liked the way you were so close to him, but he didn’t like the idea of you being scared.</p><p>“Yeah! Just need a second!” You waited another moment and cracked one eye open. He had you pretty damn high. You trusted Peter though, and you knew he wouldn’t let anything happen to you. You finally opened both eyes and looked over his shoulder, watching the cars and people go by below, as well as the buildings whizzing past. The discomfort faded away as you watched the scenery, a smile appearing on your face. Peter was about to ask if you were okay when he heard you start to laugh. He smiled, focusing equally on you and avoiding crashing into any buildings.</p><p>“This is awesome!” You looked at Peter and he spared a quick glance at you as the wind blew your hair in your face. He was glad you were smiling and not seeming so terrified anymore.</p><p>After a while of swinging, the sun started to go down and the city lights went up, and Peter knew it was about time to get ready for the party. He landed you back on the fire escape and you were still laughing as you let go of him and stood on something solid again, your legs wobbling slightly. Peter still had his arm around your waist even after you let go, but he quickly realized and dropped it. “Was it everything you imagined?”</p><p>You did kind of miss the feeling of being close to him, but you quickly ignored it and smiled. “Definitely. It was a bit scary at first, but I got used to it.”</p><p>“Good, I’m glad you liked it.” Peter fidgeted with his fingers awkwardly. “We should go ahead and get ready.”</p><p>You tried not to sound disappointed when he reminded you of the party. “Oh yeah. I almost forgot. We wouldn’t want to be late.”</p><p>—-</p><p>May dropped you, Peter, and Ned off in front of Flash’s house, the music already thumping and lights flashing from inside. The three of you headed down the path to the front door, the sounds getting louder. Peter looked at you out of the corner of his eye as you walked next to him. “I should’ve said it earlier, but you look really nice tonight,” he said low enough that Ned wouldn’t hear.</p><p>“Thanks. You too,” you replied, hoping he wouldn’t notice the blush or the way your heart sped up.</p><p>Once inside, you finally saw how crowded it was. There was no way it was only upperclassmen. All of those bodies so close together caused your anxiety to spike. Peter noticed and grabbed your hand.</p><p>Suddenly, there was an arm slung over your shoulder and you quickly realized it was Flash. “HEY EVERYBODY! THE BIRTHDAY GIRL IS HERE!”</p><p>As soon as the words left his mouth, everyone looked over at you and you desperately wanted the floor to swallow you whole. There was a loud chorus of “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” as they all raised their red plastic cups up at you. You were shaking when you felt Peter squeeze your hand, and you saw his apologetic smile.</p><p>Before you could say anything, Flash spoke again. “MJ and Betty are in the living room and there’s drinks in the kitchen!”</p><p>You almost couldn’t hear him over the music, but you caught it and yelled back a “Thanks” before he let go of you and went off to see some other guests. You didn’t notice the way Peter had been so tensed up, Flash’s closeness to you bothering him more than it should have.</p><p>The three of you got drinks and went back with MJ and Betty, who wished you a happy birthday as well. The loud music was a bit much and you quickly realized that this wasn’t your scene, but you were there with friends and the party seemed to be partially for you so you figured you would make the most of it by staying there with them. Not that you were doing much other than standing by the wall as they all talked.</p><p>Soon Peter was in front of you, looking at you expectantly. You must have zoned out and missed something. “Did you say something?”</p><p>“I, uh, I said ‘Happy Birthday’, and I asked if you wanted to dance with me.” His big brown eyes were hopeful, and his smile was so sweet. You knew you should’ve said no, considering that you weren’t the best dancer, but you couldn’t resist that winning combination.</p><p>“Okay,” you said, and let him pull you into the crowd of people who were dancing together. You weren’t much of a dancer, but neither was Peter from the way he shook his shoulders. A laugh escaped as you wondered how ridiculous you both looked, him doing that and you swaying your hips.</p><p>“I’m sorry about Flash telling everyone. I asked him to not make a scene.”</p><p>“It’s fine. I was just surprised is all,” you assured him with a shrug. “How did you guys know anyway?”</p><p>Peter didn’t want to sound creepy, but he also didn’t want to lie to you. “I googled you when you first showed up. That probably sounds so weird…” A couple was dancing next to you guys and Peter subtly shifted away from them. Flash’s house was big, but with the amount of people that frequented his parties, it was still pretty close quarters.</p><p>“No, it makes sense. I google you and the actor that plays you a lot in my universe so it’s fine,” you said, making him wonder for a moment exactly <em>why</em> you did that.</p><p>The song turned to something faster and much louder, so the conversation became drowned out and you changed your movements to match the beat, not realizing that you subtly got closer to Peter. The colorful lights flashed over his face, making his eyes sparkle, and you found yourself drawn closer to him. Peter felt the same with the way you moved, like he was under a spell.</p><p>Only one song later, you had your hands on his shoulders and his were on your hips. Your chests were practically touching and you could barely breathe. Meanwhile, Peter’s mind was running a million miles a second. He found himself wanting to kiss you so badly and he kept eye contact with you, his lips parting slightly as he got closer.</p><p>You were tempted to kiss him too. You wondered how soft his lips were, how gently he’d kiss. You were sure he would taste sweet, like the drink he’d just had or the sour gummy worms he liked. Slowly, you began to lean in, not looking away from his dark brown eyes, but the song changed to something with a faster beat and broke the trance you were under. You pulled away and Peter felt a flash of hurt. “I’ll, uh, I’ll go get us some more drinks. Stay here, I’ll be back.” He disappeared in the crowd, leaving you there on the dance floor.</p><p>Peter practically ran to the kitchen, partly to get the drinks, but also to talk to MJ. He skidded to a stop right in front of her, where she stood eating a snack. “What did you do this time?”</p><p>He grinned, thinking about just how close he’d been with you mere moments before, but it faded as he spoke. “Well we were dancing and it was amazing and I think she might have wanted to kiss me, but I’m not sure because she pulled away…I don’t know what to do now. Please help me?”</p><p>“Okay, but only because you <em>desperately</em> need it.”</p><p>—-</p><p>You did just as Peter asked and waited in that spot, even though the dancing bodies around you made you nervous. The thought of the dance you just shared with him had you dizzy as you realized that you had <em>definitely</em> almost kissed him. Peter seemed just as into it as you were until you pulled away and that could have meant something. The two of you had been getting closer, and the fact that you nearly kissed him just confirmed that it was no longer a tiny crush on a character you’d always admired. It was something real.</p><p>Maybe when he came back you could have another dance. Maybe you could finish what you started. But the sight you caught in the kitchen shocked you right out of that thought, as if someone had poured ice water over your head.</p><p>Peter was there talking to MJ, smiling so wide. He had probably noticed her in the kitchen as you danced and left you there to see her, and why wouldn’t he? She was MJ, his ex girlfriend, his future wife. And what were you? Just some girl who would disappear from his life eventually.</p><p>You cursed yourself for having a tiny glimmer of hope and pushed your way through the crowd, heading in the opposite direction. You ended up walking smack into someone’s chest and your face burned in embarrassment as you looked up at the person. Brad Davis.</p><p>He put his hands on your shoulders to steady you so you wouldn’t fall from the impact. "Hey, whoa”</p><p>“I-I’m sorry for running into you.” It made you wonder if the night could get any more humiliating. You couldn’t help wishing you’d stayed back at the apartment and even denied Peter’s offer to go swinging. Perhaps you would have that history paper done already.</p><p>Brad let his hands drop from your shoulders and a concerned look could be seen on his face even in the bad lighting. “It’s fine. Are you okay?”</p><p>“I don’t know. I really don’t.”</p><p>He led you to a slightly more secluded area and you let him. You knew Brad wasn’t a bad guy, and he seemed genuinely worried. “Being in a less crowded place might help you feel better. Also, I’m Brad. We have the same homeroom.”</p><p>“I remember you.” But not for the reasons he would think, more like him taking that picture of Peter and nearly getting killed by drones. “Thanks, by the way. I just needed a minute. This really hasn’t been my night I guess.”</p><p>“I saw you dancing with Peter and you looked like you were having a good time.” His demeanor changed slightly when he mentioned Peter, and you knew he still didn’t like him.</p><p>“I was, but he’s, uh, he’s busy with MJ right now,” you said with a shrug, hoping you seemed nonchalant. You didn’t.</p><p>“That sounds like him. He’s bad news, (Y/N).”</p><p>You shook your head, fighting the tears that welled up in your eyes. You knew Brad’s opinion was formed by jealousy and their previous rivalry, but you couldn’t help it. “Can we talk about something else? I just need a distraction.”</p><p>Brad gave you a genuine smile. “Sure. Anything for the birthday girl.”</p><p>—-</p><p>When Peter came back from the kitchen about ten minutes later, a drink in each hand and a smile on his face, you weren’t there. His smile dropped as he spun around looking for you, but you were nowhere to be found. There was an iron grip on his heart and he tried to breathe normally. You could be in danger. Someone could have carried you off in the commotion of the party and took you god knows where. His senses didn’t warn him, but he couldn’t help being concerned</p><p>He found Betty, Ned, and Flash and asked if they had seen you, but they were no help. He ended up wandering around the huge house until he spotted you and Brad standing together and laughing in a dark little corner. All of the worry left and he was filled with something else entirely.</p><p>It was one thing that Brad kept trying to ruin things with MJ way back when, but now he was talking to <em>you</em>. Peter realized he shouldn’t have been so upset by you talking to someone, it was just that Brad was a different story. He told you he was coming back and you disappeared with someone that absolutely did not like him.</p><p>His feet carried him over without even thinking until he was standing right by the two of you, smiling sweetly at you and ignoring the other boy. “Hey, (Y/N)!”</p><p>You looked over at him and your smile faltered. “Hey, Peter.”</p><p>“I got your drink.” He held the cup up, trying to keep his look up even though you seemed unhappy to see him and it made his stomach drop.</p><p>“Thanks, but Brad actually went and got me one.” You pointed at the red plastic cup you held in your other hand. “You were taking a while. I didn’t think you were coming back.” That wasn’t even a lie or an attempt to be petty. He seemed happy talking to MJ so you assumed you wouldn’t see him again until May picked you all up later.</p><p>Peter frowned at the cup and then at you. “Of course I was. Why wouldn’t I?”</p><p>“I don’t know….Anyway,” you turned your attention  back to Brad. “What were you saying?”</p><p>“So he-”</p><p>Peter completely ignored Brad when he started to speak. “(Y/N), can we talk for a minute?”</p><p>“You don’t have to,” Brad said, and Peter finally acknowledged him.</p><p>“Obviously she doesn’t have to. Can’t you just mind your own business for once, Brad?”</p><p>“Peter!”</p><p>Brad glared at him, and Peter glared right back. “Back off, Parker.”</p><p>You watched the exchange and grabbed Peter’s arm, not liking the look in his eye. You didn’t want him to fight Brad and end up hurting him. And Peter definitely would have if not for your firm grip on his arm bringing him back down. “Let’s talk.” You dragged him away, giving Brad an apologetic smile as you disappeared.</p><p>Finally, you found the back door and led Peter out into the cool night, the music fading as you shut the door behind. You put your drink down on the patio table and crossed your arms over your chest. “What the hell was that?”</p><p>Peter stared at you, seeing the mix of hurt and anger on your face. He didn’t like it, not at all, but he was still upset. “I should be asking you the same thing. Of all the people you could ditch me to talk to, you pick Brad.”</p><p>“That’s pretty funny coming from you.”</p><p>“What’s that supposed to mean?”</p><p>You threw your arms out in frustration and dropped down in one of the metal chairs, the soft pad on the bottom cushioning the impact. You sighed heavily and rested your face in one hand. It was ridiculous to be upset. He wasn’t anything to you but a friend, a friend who would only be fictional again eventually. You didn’t have the right to sound like a jealous girlfriend. “Just forget it,” you answered weakly, almost too low for him to hear.</p><p>Any argument died on Peter’s tongue at your change in attitude. He sat down in the seat next to you and just looked at you for a moment, memorizing the way the moonlight lit up your eyes and face. He hated that you looked so sad. “Did I do something wrong? Please tell me.” His voice and puppy eyes made him seem like he was very close to getting on his knees and begging for the answer. You had no idea how true that was.</p><p>But what could you say? ‘Yeah, you’re too cute and sweet’? 'You’re too kind and funny’? 'You’re you and you exist’? No, you couldn’t say any of that.</p><p>“You didn’t do anything, Peter. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. Let’s just go back inside, okay?” You stood up from the chair, feeling too down to be inside, but knowing you couldn’t stay out there forever. Not alone with him.</p><p>Peter wanted to figure out what was wrong, but he also didn’t want to upset you anymore tonight. It was your birthday after all. So Peter got up as well and opened the back door for you, the music flooding out once again and hitting you full force. As the two of you pushed through the crowd, he spotted the people that were dancing, where the two of you had been so close. He desperately wanted to ask you to dance with him again, only the words wouldn’t come out, and he had a feeling that you would say no this time.</p><p>You stood against the wall like before, listening to your friends shout over the music, but all Peter could bring himself to do was watch you longingly. MJ rolled her eyes at him, going unnoticed.</p><p>The only thing you could think about was how screwed you were.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You drifted away from Peter a little after your birthday. It was subtle, just enough for you to keep him at a small distance and not risk your feelings developing even more. No one else really seemed to notice, no one but Peter. At least that was what he thought.</p><p>It hurt you, but it killed him, and that’s why he wanted more advice from his ex and close friend. “MJ, I need your help again,” he said quickly as he slid into the seat next to her. Thankfully you and his other friends didn’t share this class.</p><p>“Is it about (Y/N) acting weird?” she asked casually, not looking up from the book she was reading.</p><p>“Yeah, how did you know?”</p><p>“You should know by now that I’m very observant.” She turned around in her seat to look at him. She’d never seen him quite this nervous, even when he was crushing over her and Liz years ago. How he’d acted at the party was enough to tell her that he was very serious about you, let alone every other piece of evidence she’d seen over the past few months. Even though they used to date, she was glad to see that he had moved on to someone else.</p><p>“I told you about how we might’ve almost kissed at the party, but while me and you were talking, I guess she thought I wasn’t coming back so she went off with Brad. I got upset because, you know, it’s <em>Brad</em>, then she got upset too. Things have been off between us since then.” Peter ran a hand back through his hair with a heavy sigh. “I just want us to be how we were.”</p><p>MJ knew that you liked him, it was plain to see. You were nearly as bad as he was about the staring and pining, but he somehow hadn’t caught on yet. She knew it wasn’t her place to tell him your feelings, that was for you to do, so she decided to nudge him in the right direction. “You still don’t have a prom date. Ask her.”</p><p>“Do you really think she’ll say yes?” He smiled, thinking about what the night would be like if you did. You, as beautiful as always, in a dress and slow dancing with him, your bodies so close as everything else faded away, leaving just the two of you. He would kiss you with every bit of feeling he had for you and it would be a magical moment.</p><p>Peter didn’t consider the fact that you might not even <em>be</em> there for prom. More and more he was starting to push down the thoughts of you leaving forever. He didn’t want to think of what life would be like when you weren’t around.</p><p>MJ raised her eyebrow. “Would I tell you to ask her if I didn’t?”</p><p>“Maybe if you wanted to humiliate me.”</p><p>“Not this time, Parker. I’m getting tired of all of the sad eyes and pining. Ask her before it’s too late.”</p><p>Peter sat back in his seat with a grin, making MJ smile a little. “Okay, I’m gonna do it. I’m asking (Y/N) to prom.”</p><p>—-</p><p>When Peter asked you about a movie night since it was Friday, you wanted to decline. It felt like too much for you to handle. Unfortunately, you found it hard to resist Peter’s cute puppy eyes, so you ended up in the kitchen with him that night, making popcorn.</p><p>Peter had been smiling like an idiot all day, and it wasn’t that you didn’t like it, you just didn’t understand why. You felt a flare of sadness as you wondered if he got back together with MJ, but if that were the case, why would he be with you and not her?</p><p>“What’s got you smiling so much, Pete?”</p><p>“Oh, it’s nothing.”</p><p>In truth, Peter was totally happy, all because of the thought of going to prom with you. He planned to ask you that night, something small and private so it wouldn’t make you anxious. At that moment, he felt pretty confident about how the night would go. After all, MJ was rarely ever wrong.</p><p>The two of you sat in the living room and you kept a respectable distance between you, enough to fit the popcorn bowl, even though you would’ve liked to be closer. Peter couldn’t help thinking of you cuddling against his side, his arm around you as your warmth soaked into his skin.</p><p>You noticed that he seemed to be spaced out. “You okay? We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”</p><p>Peter quickly shook his head, his eyes wide. “No, I wanna do this with you. I’m fine.”</p><p>You gave him a small smile, still unsure. He shouldn’t have felt like he had to spend time with you if he didn’t really want to, but you didn’t want to fight it either. “Okay, let’s start the movie.”</p><p>Peter pressed play and that familiar music filled the room as the opening crawl scrolled up the screen. He loved Star Wars, which was why you suggested watching something from that series. That was actually what led you to asking him a certain question earlier in the afternoon, one that had bugged you for years.</p><p>
  <em>“When you fought in Germany, why did you pretend not to know what AT-AT’s or the planet Hoth were called?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I didn’t want the Avengers to think I was a nerd. I wanted to be cool, you know?”</em>
</p><p>You thought he couldn’t get much cuter than that until you saw his excited little grin out of the corner of your eye. It reminded you of how you used to feel when watching Marvel films, before you lived in one.</p><p>What you didn’t realize was that he was barely watching the movie, since he’d seen all of them enough times to quote them in their entirety in his sleep. All he could think about was you, just you, and how he wanted to ask you. Maybe with a cheesy pun like those promposals, or something smooth, like he could <em>ever</em> be smooth. He realized he probably should’ve asked MJ for advice on the how, but if you wanted to go with him, you’d say yes no matter what, right?</p><p>As A New Hope ended, Peter turned to you, still smiling. For a moment, you wondered how his face wasn’t hurting from it. He took your hand in his own, making your breath hitch subtly from the contact. “(Y/N), there’s, uh, there’s something I wanted to ask you. Something really important. Do you want to-?”</p><p>That was the moment his phone chose to go off. If it was anything else, he would’ve ignored it and spit out the question, but you both knew the specific tone he had for Avengers alerts. He pulled out his phone, his other hand still holding yours as he read the bright red message. They needed all hands on deck for this one.</p><p>He cursed and shoved his phone back in his pocket, and you removed your hand from his, snapping out of it once the moment was ruined. Peter looked at you with those soft eyes again, and for the first time that day, he didn’t look happy. “I-I have to go. It’s really important.”</p><p>“Whatever it was you wanted to ask, I’m sure it can wait.” You smiled reassuringly, and it did help him a little.</p><p>“I’m sorry for ruining tonight.”</p><p>“It’s okay. I know you have responsibilities.”</p><p>Peter stood up from the couch, from the comfort of your presence. “I’ll try to be back in a few hours.”</p><p>“Be safe.”</p><p>With that, Peter left you alone in the living room. You let your head rest back against the couch, trying not to think about him taking your hand. How his touch still lingered there, making you want more. What could he have possibly wanted to ask you? Why would he hold your hand? Was it something bad?</p><p>Instead of continuing to worry and think about all the possibilities, you changed it over to The Empire Strikes Back and sat the bowl of popcorn in your lap, having your own little pity party.</p><p>—-</p><p>Several hours later, Peter climbed through his bedroom exhausted and in pain. His suit was covered in dirt and he was sure he had bruises all over as well. He looked over at his bed, expecting to see you snuggled up in his blanket, looking so relaxed and sweet. Most nights when he came in, he would just look at you for a while as you slept soundly, the sight soothing him. But you weren’t there.</p><p>Maybe you’d stayed up waiting for him in the living room. He hoped that was all it was, and considering there was no sign of a struggle, it was likely that you were fine.</p><p>Peter opened the door and stepped out into the apartment. He saw that the movie had gone to the menu, the music looping over and over. You laid sprawled out on the couch, tangled in the throw blanket you’d been under when he left. He could hear your soft snores, and your hair covered your face in a mess. There was even a tiny bit of drool on the corner of your mouth. Even with all of that, you were still absolutely beautiful to him.</p><p>As comfortable as you looked, he wanted you to sleep in his bed and not on the couch. Peter was slipping his arms under you as the front door opened and May entered, back from her late night with Happy. She watched as he carefully picked you up and carried you to his bedroom, ignoring the aches in his body. He put you down like you were made of glass and pulled the blanket up over you, even tucking it in.</p><p>You shifted slightly, making him think he’d disturbed you too much, but your breathing hadn’t changed. He gently touched your cheek and you seemed to lean into it slightly in your sleep, which made his heart flutter. Feeling bold, he placed a gentle kiss on your forehead and whispered, “I love you.” Peter smiled down at you and left the room, quietly closing the door behind him.</p><p>May stood in the living room, waiting for him. “How was movie night?” The fact that he was in his suit gave her the answer, but with how insistent he was that she went out with Happy, she knew there had to be more to it than watching movies.</p><p>Peter sighed and sat down on the couch, which was still warm from your body. It was a pleasant feeling. “We only got to watch one movie before the Avengers called me. I got back right before you did and I guess she fell asleep. I can’t blame her.”</p><p>She came to stand in front of him and put a hand on his shoulder. “You don’t have to be so upset, Peter. She knows you were out helping people, I’m sure she understands. There’s always tomorrow or another night.”</p><p>“The thing is, it wasn’t <em>just</em> a movie night. I was trying to ask her to go to prom with me, but the call came and I didn’t get the chance.”</p><p>“Oh, honey.” May kneeled down and brushed the messy curls from his forehead. “You’ll get another chance, but…I just want you to be careful, Peter. She has to go back home one day and I don’t want to see you heartbroken again.” She could clearly remember how distraught he’d been after breaking up with MJ, even if he didn’t want to admit it, but she had seen his feelings for you and they were much more than what he had for MJ. The thought of him breaking down again when you left was too much to bear.</p><p>“It’s too late for that, May. I love her.” His eyes stung with tears and he sniffled, her reminder bringing back what he had been trying to push down. “I love her and I don’t want her to leave.”</p><p>When he finally sobbed, May quickly brought him in for a hug, feeling his body shake as he cried. She rubbed his back, trying her best to soothe him, and the sounds he made broke her heart. With Liz, with MJ, it wasn’t much more than ‘I really like her’ and it was still hard for him after. If he <em>loved</em> you, then it really <em>was</em> going to be bad. She just held him for a while letting him cry it out and soak the shoulder of her shirt with tears.</p><p>
  <em>“I don’t want her to leave.”</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been a week since the movie night and Peter still hadn’t asked you to prom yet. He tried, <em>boy did he try</em>, but something always happened to prevent it. He would get interrupted by friends, the Avengers would call, or May would walk in. At that point, he wasn’t sure he would ever get the question out.</p><p>Of course MJ had to hear all about it from Peter since she had offered to help him. Did she regret it? Maybe a little, but he needed her support and he was one of her best friends so she dealt with it anyway.</p><p>On that particular day, Peter couldn’t be at school. He was needed on a big Avengers mission and May allowed him a three day weekend for it. Peter missed the hell out of you and you missed him too even though you knew it was ridiculous since he would be back in a few days. He was texting in the group chat often and everyone but you realized that he really just wanted to talk to you.</p><p>MJ watched out of the corner of her eye as you sat at your desk typing out a little <b>‘Good luck’</b> to Peter, who was in the Quinjet with the Avengers and heading towards their destination. She noticed the little smile on your face and smirked. Peter was just as oblivious as you were if he really couldn’t see these things. It was painfully obvious that you were nearly on par with him when it came to the pining.</p><p>You blushed as you read his <b>'Thank you’</b> message and put your phone back in your pocket. It turned out trying to keep some distance was harder than you thought it would be. You knew he wanted MJ and that it was going to hurt when you left, but you really couldn’t help or deny the way Peter made you feel anymore.</p><p>“Do you have a date for prom yet?” MJ asked suddenly, realizing this was a good chance to help you <em>and</em> Peter and maybe stop the constant yearning they all had to witness.</p><p>Her question made you turn to her in surprise. “Oh prom? No. I might not even be able to go.” You tried not to think about how nice it would be to go with Peter. He probably wanted to go with <em>her</em> after all…"What about you?“</p><p>"I’m going by myself. I like it better that way,” she said with a shrug. Your mention of not being able to go made her curious though, matching up with a few things Peter had said in different conversations, but she still didn’t know about your real situation. “Do you <em>want</em> to go with anyone?”</p><p>Again, you thought of Peter, but even with what MJ said about going alone, you were sure he’d still prefer her. She was the one he was supposed to be with anyway, not you. You and MJ had become friends over the months, but you weren’t sure about telling her the truth since it seemed there were still feelings shared between them after what you saw at the party.</p><p>“Not really, and I don’t think anyone would want to go with me anyway. If I can actually go, I guess we can both go stag.”</p><p>MJ barely resisted snorting at your answer. Yeah, you were definitely oblivious.</p><p>—-</p><p>When Peter returned from the mission on Sunday night, he didn’t go straight home even though he was exhausted. He didn’t call you or May either. He wanted to see you so badly, but he felt too broken up to face you. All he did was perch on a roof nearby to think about the mission.</p><p>The villain the Avengers ran into screwed with their heads, with his head. He made him relive Ben’s death <em>and</em> Tony’s in great detail and it was so much worse than Mysterio since they weren’t illusions, they were full memories. Peter couldn’t just use his spidey sense to find a way out of it because it was all in his mind.</p><p>Another terrible thing was how he rubbed you in his face. The memory of seeing you with Brad, and the fact that you would leave him one day like so many other people in his life had. How he was too much of a coward to ask you out, and that he was a freak for thinking about you so much in the way that he did.</p><p>Peter’s phone went off and he checked his messages to see that it was from Ned. You had sent him a few texts in the past several hours, but there was an unread one from a little over an hour earlier. <b>'The news said the Avengers got back a while ago. You ok?’</b></p><p>While he didn’t feel okay, seeing your name on his screen helped. Peter let out a sigh and his phone rang again, showing a brand new message from you <b>'I know you’re probably just doing a debriefing or something but I’m a little worried about you. Please text when you can’</b></p><p>Reading that instantly filled him with guilt. He hated the thought of making you worry for him. Maybe it was time to head home so you wouldn’t keep fretting.</p><p>Little did he know, you had been sitting on the fire escape since about an hour after the news showed the Quinjet landing at the mansion. You had your knees hugged to your chest, watching the screen of your phone. You didn’t want to text him a lot and bother him, but you couldn’t help being concerned about him. This was an important, days long mission and he had been silent for hours since they got back. What if he was hurt?</p><p>You were about to bite the bullet and send another message before you heard Peter say a little “Hey.”</p><p>When you looked up, you found him crouched on the railing, his eyes on you. Relief washed over you as you realized there were no injuries to be seen, no bullet holes for you to sew up. “Hey.”</p><p>He climbed down from the railing and sat down next to you. “What’re you doing out here?”</p><p>“I was waiting for you,” you admitted in a small voice, feeling more embarrassed than you thought you would about waiting up for him like that. “You had me worried is all.”</p><p>Peter looked down in shame, his chest feeling heavy. He knew worrying the people he loved came with the job, but that didn’t make him feel any better about it. “I’m sorry. I just…wasn’t ready to come back yet.”</p><p>“Peter, did something happen?”</p><p>“It was a hard mission, you know?” He pulled his mask off and shook his head a bit, tossing his messy waves everywhere.</p><p>What you noticed first was the slight shine and puffiness in his eyes and it made your heart clench. It must have been bad. “We can talk about it if you want to…”</p><p>Peter sighed, looking forward and focusing his eyes on the building across the street. He could talk to you about some of it, but he was sure the rest would have you very awkward around him. Suddenly, you took his gloved hand and squeezed it softly.</p><p>“Or we can sit here together and enjoy the weather. It’s a nice night.”</p><p>He smiled softly, his heart thumping a little faster as you held his hand even though there was fabric separating your skin from his. The smile faded as he took a deep breath. “The mission was going pretty well at first, then it went…bad. One of the guys we fought, he had mind powers. He made us all see things. He pulled out some of my worst memories and forced me to go through them again. I couldn’t…I couldn’t stop it…”</p><p>You didn’t say anything, you just let go of his hand and wrapped your arms around him, knowing just how much he’d been through in 18 years and that he must have relived Ben and Tony’s deaths. He broke down and tears streamed from his eyes again as it all kept coming, his arms circling you as well to hold you close. “Wanda broke free and took him down, but I can’t stop thinking about it. I’ve lost so many people I care about. My parents, Ben, Tony…I’m gonna lose you too…”</p><p>“Peter…” you said softly, holding him a little tighter. You couldn’t believe you were on that level to him and that he was <em>that</em> broken up about the fact you would be leaving one day soon.</p><p>He realized his mistake and stiffened. <em>Stupid stupid stupid.</em> “I-I didn’t mean to say that. I’m sorry.”</p><p>You rubbed his back in an attempt to soothe him. “No, don’t be sorry. I know we’ve become friends and it’s going to be hard for both of us. It’s going to <em>suck</em>, but you have so many friends and people that love you. You’ll be okay when I’m gone.” But you had to wonder, would <em>you</em> be okay?</p><p>Peter pulled back slightly and looked at you totally shocked, tears still welling up in his eyes. He wasn’t even thinking at this point, only focused on how absolutely <em>wrong</em> you were. “You think I’ll be okay, but I won’t because you’re not just a friend.”</p><p>“What…?” A little bit of joy blossomed in you, but you didn’t want to let it get too big. 'Not just a friend’ could mean a lot of things.</p><p>“Fuck,” he muttered, squeezing his eyes shut. He said way too much <em>again</em>, or at least he thought so until he realized that you weren’t letting go of him or running back inside. Peter opened his eyes and saw you watching him hopefully, a hint of a smile on your lips, and that gave him confidence. “You’re not just a friend because you’re more than that. I lo…like you a lot. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. I want to hold you and kiss you and make you the happiest girl in the world.”</p><p>You wondered if you were hearing things, but the way he was looking at you, like he was amazed by everything about you, told you it was real. “I like you too.” Of course, you only had a moment of happiness before other thoughts crept in, the main one being “But what about MJ…?”</p><p>Peter almost didn’t catch the question, too caught up in relief and excitement that you accepted his confession. “What about her?”</p><p>“You guys have a history, and you still have feelings for her, right? When you left me at the party for her, I thought I had no chance.”</p><p>He frowned slightly as he thought about it and realized how bad that must have looked to you. “No, I went to MJ for help. When we maybe almost kissed and you pulled away, I kind of panicked and I didn’t know what to do. There’s nothing between us anymore. She’s actually been helping me out with asking you to prom.” Peter’s eyes went wide once he realized what he said, pressing his lips together in a thin line.</p><p>You smiled softly, now realizing exactly why MJ had brought up prom a few days before. “You’ve been trying to ask me to prom?”</p><p>“Yeah, for about a week. The first try was movie night, then about half a dozen other times where we got interrupted. I know this isn’t a perfect moment or anything, but…do you wanna go to prom? With me?”</p><p>“I don’t know if I’ll still be here, but if I am, I will definitely go to prom with you.”</p><p>Peter wanted to be happy, only you reminded him of the predicament you were in. Soon you would be leaving forever. You thought about it too, and you knew that these confessions would only make things harder when you had to go back home, but you didn’t want to have regrets, even if it hurt you later.</p><p>Your face moved slightly closer to his, gazing into his eyes and distracting him from his thoughts. You glanced at his lips and back and a slight blush spread across his cheeks as he wondered if this would be it. “Can I kiss you, Peter?”</p><p>“Y-yeah…”</p><p>Slowly, <em>way</em> too slowly for him, the two of you inched closer until your lips barely brushed over one another’s. His were slightly chapped against your soft ones, but they were perfect and warm as you finally closed the last bit of distance and pressed your lips to his fully. While it was a little awkward with the angle and the way your noses bumped, it brought a smile to your face and his. It made you feel warm and fuzzy, and Peter wondered if his heart might actually burst in his chest.</p><p>You broke the sweet kiss and looked into his brown eyes once again, finding them filled with even more wonder than before. “Wow…”</p><p>“Yeah, <em>wow</em>…” Peter carefully unwrapped his arms from around your waist and held your face in his hands, never looking away from your eyes. Suddenly, his lips were on yours again with a little more pressure and it felt even better. Your lips tingled as you moved them against his experimentally, unsure what to do since you’d never kissed anyone before that.</p><p>In reality, Peter didn’t have much experience either. He and MJ didn’t kiss often while they were together, but he was doing his best. He wanted you to know how much he loved you even though he couldn’t say the word out of concern for scaring you. He smiled when you rested your hands on his chest and leaned in a little more. Every other thought left his mind, filling it with nothing but you and the feeling of your lips. If the two of you could stay in that moment forever, he wouldn’t mind at all.</p><p>But eventually you had to breathe, though that didn’t mean you were going too far from him. Peter touched his forehead to yours and stroked your cheek with his thumb, feeling some of the warmth through his glove. Neither of you could keep from grinning as you gave him a soft peck on the lips.</p><p>There was a lot for the both of you to figure out, but in that moment, neither of you gave a damn about anything other than each other.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Peter hadn’t let go of your hand once the entire way to school. Not as you rode the subway and not as you walked down the street. He didn’t even think about it. It had been like this every day since the night you both confessed your feelings, but you didn’t mind. In fact, you held onto his hand just as tightly.</p><p>Nearly two weeks passed since the night you kissed him and you couldn’t be happier. The mere thought of Peter and knowing that he shared your feelings had your heart beating faster and butterflies fluttering in your stomach. You didn’t want to let go of this feeling any time soon even though you knew it was just a matter of time.</p><p>“What are you thinking about?” Peter asked, looking over at you as you walked down the sidewalk in front of the school.</p><p>Your cheeks got hot and you smiled at him. “You.”</p><p>Peter’s heart felt like it stuttered in his chest. Truth be told, he was still blown away that you were with him now. He woke up every morning thinking it was all just a lovely dream until you gave him a good morning kiss and confirmed that all of it was real. You were his and he was yours. He didn’t want to think about that changing, not yet.</p><p>“I was thinking about you too.” He lifted your hand up and kissed the back of it, giving you a shy smile.</p><p>The two of you finally made it into the school and to the table you usually met everyone at. The first day you walked over while holding hands, you both got a lot of ‘I knew it!’s and some playful teasing by Flash, as well as a little smirk from MJ. Now since it had been a few weeks, the excitement about it died down, but there were still jokes about how disgustingly cute you were.</p><p>The jokes got worse during lunch because you really were disgustingly cute. Peter would wait to go through the lunch line with you and always tried to carry your tray, which you would sometimes let him do if he really insisted. Then you would hold hands under the table the entire time and everyone knew it. Peter was too shy to kiss you in front of everyone, no matter how much he wanted to, so he settled with sitting very close to you. He couldn’t help getting lost in you, sometimes losing his focus on the conversation going on around him.</p><p>“Peter?”</p><p>He snapped out of it and realized he’d been staring at you. He sure hoped he hadn’t been drooling or anything. “Huh?”</p><p>“We were talking about going dress shopping after school today,” you said, gesturing to MJ and Betty. “So you don’t have to walk me home.”</p><p>“Oh, okay. That sounds fun.” Peter couldn’t help being a bit sad that he wouldn’t be walking you home though. He always did it, even if he had to head off on patrol halfway through. He would still make sure you got home safely even after you thought you went your separate ways.</p><p>You squeezed his hand gently under the table, feeling a little guilty since you could see the disappointment and knew he didn’t like the idea of missing out on your usual walk. At the same time, you needed a dress to wear to prom, assuming Strange wouldn’t be back by then. You forced that thought from your head and smiled at Peter, laying your head on his shoulder as the subject changed.</p><p>Every person at the table saw how bright red his face turned at the simple action and Flash made a joke about it, but Peter didn’t mind when you were that close to him.</p><p>—-</p><p>Peter watched from a nearby rooftop as you, MJ, and Betty walked into a clothing store. He hadn’t intended to follow at first and he knew it was a little much, but he was so worried about you. What if something happened and he wasn’t there for you? So he tracked you down on the way from the school and kept up with you, seeing you talk happily with the other girls.</p><p>Betty led you and MJ into the first store and you looked around the first rack in your size, not finding anything that caught your eye yet. “Thanks for inviting me. I’m terrible at shopping for things like this,” you said as you checked out a dark green dress. It was nice, but it didn’t seem like your color.</p><p>“Of course! It always helps to have different opinions. We’re all going to look so amazing,” Betty replied, holding a rosy pink dress up to her body and swaying slightly before shaking her head and putting it back.</p><p>MJ already seemed fed up with the whole dress thing, each one she passed on the rack barely getting a second glance. You walked over and looked through them too before landing on a long lavender one, which would work perfectly for her since she was so tall. You pulled that one out and held it in front of her, receiving a quizzical look. “This one would look great on you. You should try it on if you want to.”</p><p>MJ examined the long flowing dress for a moment. You knew she was no stranger to lighter colors considering the yellow and white dress she wore to homecoming, so you weren’t too surprised when she took it and headed to the changing room. As she changed into it, you and Betty kept looking through what was left but had no luck.</p><p>She peeked out of the room, catching your attention so you could bring Betty over. When MJ stepped out fully, you were floored. The dress looked absolutely amazing on her, the color and the cut of it suiting her as well as the way the fabric clung to her body. She was beautiful and that made those doubts that seemed to disappear a few weeks ago creep back up again.</p><p>“So, do I look ridiculous?” MJ asked, making you snap out of it.</p><p>You pushed those thoughts away, because this was supposed to be a fun afternoon. “You look gorgeous, MJ.”</p><p>“Yeah, you do,” Betty added with a bright smile. “I think that might be the one.”</p><p>It took a few more stores before you found a dress that you liked even though MJ and Betty already had theirs at that point. As soon as you saw the midnight blue fabric, you were drawn to it. It had some lace and a bit of embroidery, but at the same time, the design wasn’t too busy. You took it off the rack and went to try it on, not even asking the others about it yet because you just had a feeling. Once you changed into the dress, you checked yourself out in the full length mirror and smiled. There was no way Peter wouldn’t like this one, right? It was even in one of his signature colors.</p><p>Finally, you came out to show the girls and even MJ looked impressed. Betty gasped. “Wow, Y/N. Peter’s going to lose it when he sees you in that.”</p><p>“You think so?” You asked as you grabbed the skirt in each hand and pulled it out to the sides a little.</p><p>“Absolutely.”</p><p>Your cheeks heated up as you thought about how Peter might react to the dress. He’d never seen you in anything like that before, but you could imagine him being sweet and stuttery as he told you how beautiful you looked. You smiled at them as you went back into the dressing room and changed back into your clothes.</p><p>Looking at the dress, you wondered if he would ever actually see you in it. So much could happen in the next few weeks, but you found yourself hoping it could wait at least until after prom.</p><p>—-</p><p>Peter climbed in through his bedroom window and found you sitting up in his bed and looking cozy in your pajamas. He hadn’t seen you since he followed you home after your afternoon out with the girls, but he had texted you a few times. Not too long after you entered the apartment building, about the time it took to get from the ground floor to the apartment, you texted him to let him know you were home safe. That thoughtful message had him smiling for a long while afterwards.</p><p>“Hey there, Spidey,” you greeted as you smiled up at him. It always made his heart flutter when you did that. “How was patrol?”</p><p>“It was alright.” He tugged off his mask, shaking his head a little. “Just the usual neighborhood stuff. Muggings, carjackings, giving old ladies directions.”</p><p>You stood up from the bed and wrapped your arms around him. “Good. I was worried you might run into Doc Ock or something and I’d have to perform surgery again.”</p><p>Peter frowned slightly in confusion as he embraced you. “Doc who?”</p><p>“Oops. I’ll tell you about that another time.” You pulled back from the hug just enough to give him a sweet kiss. He chased your lips when you parted and kissed you again, making you smile.</p><p>“Did you have a good time shopping?” He asked after a moment, hugging you tightly again.</p><p>“Yeah, it was fun. I found a nice dress.”</p><p>“Can I see?”</p><p>“No, you have to wait until prom.”</p><p>“I thought that was just for weddings.”</p><p>“Nope,” you said, popping the p. “I want you to be surprised.”</p><p>“I’m looking forward to it.” Peter smiled and you wanted to kiss him again, but you let go of him instead.</p><p>“You should go take a shower and get ready for bed, Pete. You look exhausted.”</p><p>“Yes, ma'am,” he replied with a little salute, already going to grab some clothes out of his closet to take with him.</p><p>As he did that, you laid back on the bed, staring at the ceiling and blushing. You were sure that kissing Peter could never get old, not that there would be enough time for it to get old. There was an expiration date on your relationship with him and you knew it, but you wanted to enjoy it while you could. No one in your world would ever be able to measure up to Peter Parker.</p><p>It didn’t feel like very long at all when Peter’s weight suddenly made the bed dip. He pulled the blanket up and wrapped his arms around you, tucking his face in your neck. His hair was still a little damp, but you didn’t mind it as you put your arms around him and stroked his hair. You learned pretty quickly that Peter was a cuddler and the two of you did it every day. It usually happened on the couch, but May wasn’t home yet and she didn’t really care anyway as long as the door was open.</p><p>Peter nuzzled into the crook of your neck and placed a sweet kiss there, listening to your heartbeat and feeling the warmth radiate off of you. He snuggled closer and tangled his legs up with yours under the blanket before letting out a content hum. All day he’d been thinking about this, and it was even worse in the shower since he knew you were right down the hall waiting for him. He washed as quickly as possible just so he could get to you faster.</p><p>He never wanted to give this feeling up, but he had to, didn’t he? You were going to go home, you were going to leave him. And he had to let you go, right? It wouldn’t be fair, it would be selfish, but a growing part of him wanted to be selfish. It wanted you no matter what.</p><p>“What is it, Pete?”</p><p>Peter took a breath, inhaling your scent and trying to calm himself. “Just thinking about how much I hope I get to see you in that dress you got today.”</p><p>You smiled sadly as you continued to play with his hair. “Mm. I hope you get to see it too.”</p><p>He pulled away slightly, just enough to look up at you with his soft eyes. “What are we gonna do?”</p><p>“I don’t know, Pete…”</p><p>“It’s not like we have to break up,” he said quickly, almost desperately. “Doctor Strange can make portals for us to visit each other. I know long distance is hard and it’s probably even harder across universes, but I can’t lose you. I’m not ready to give you up.” Peter’s eyes shined with tears and he held you a little tighter.</p><p>He had mentioned that before and you thought about it a little, but it would never work no matter how much you wanted it to. How could you ever build a life together living in two different universes? It would hurt more to keep holding on to something that couldn’t last. Peter deserved someone he could have a real future with and so did you, but for the time being, you indulged him. “Maybe we can make it work.”</p><p>Peter smiled and held you tight again, feeling a little more hopeful. Meanwhile you held back the tears that were trying to escape. Before you knew it, Peter was asleep in your arms and you finally followed after him in spite of the heavy feeling of guilt in your chest.</p>
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